Closing their chapter. Anthony Anderson and wife Alvina Stewart have split after more than 20 years together, Us Weekly confirms.
Stewart filed for divorce from the 51-year-old actor on Friday, March 25. According to documents obtained by Us, the Howard University graduate is seeking spousal support and asked for Anderson to pay her attorney’s fees. The exact date of the pair’s separation was not listed, but Stewart cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the breakup.
The estranged couple tied the knot in September 1999 after meeting as college students a decade prior. They share two children: Kyra, 26, and Nathan, 22.
Anderson and Stewart were previously separated from 2014 to 2016. Though she filed for divorce in 2015, Stewart dismissed the petition one year later.
The twosome faced challenges ahead of their split, including the Me, Myself & Irene actor’s 2004 sexual assault allegations. Anderson was accused of harassing a 25-year-old woman who was working as an extra on the set of his film Hustle and Flow. The actress claimed at the time that Anderson and assistant director Wayne Witherspoon had forced her to have sex with them several times during production, but the case was eventually dismissed.
In July 2018, the Law & Order star found himself at the center of controversy once again when the Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation into another set of sexual assault accusations. An unidentified woman alleged that she was harassed by Anderson while catering an event for him one year prior. A rep for the Golden Globe nominee shut down the claims in a statement to Us.
“It is unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false,” the spokesperson said at the time. “The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim.”
Several months later, the L.A. District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against the Kangaroo Jack actor due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
News of Anderson’s divorce comes in the midst of the eighth and final season of Black-ish, which also stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Yara Shahidi, Jenifer Lewis, Marsai Martin and more. The California native previously gushed over Ross, 49, and the duo’s bond as fictional married couple Dre and Rainbow Johnson.
“I have a great time with Tracee,” he exclusively told Us in January 2021. “[She’s the] modern-day Lucille Ball, and I’m her Desi Arnaz. … To be at work is just [a] joy. I get to live my dream every day, do what I love to do, and to do it with people that I love doing it with.”
In November 2020, Anderson called Ross his “partner in crime,” telling Us, “The chemistry is undeniable, and it’s been that way since day one. We’ve known each other for about 15 years now, maybe longer. And it’s always been great chemistry between us.”
