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Taye Diggs on His Split From Idina Menzel: “It Was Easy for People to Root for Us”

Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs at the 19th Annual SAG Awards
Taye Diggs opened up about his split from wife Idina Menzel, telling Redbook, "It was easy for people to root for us"

When it comes to Taye Diggs' split from Idina Menzel, some people just can't "let it go." Speaking about their separation in the July issue of Redbook, the Murder in the First actor said he wasn't entirely surprised by the huge reaction to their fairly recent breakup, in part because he knows what they as a couple represented to fans. See pics of Idina Menzel at the 2014 Tonys and more.

Related: PHOTOS: Hollywood's most expensive divorces

"I'd be lying if I said there weren't times when I thought, 'Oh, man, people are going to trip out [if we split],'" Diggs, 43, said of his 10-year marriage to Menzel, also 43, with whom he shares son Walker, 4. (The couple, who met as members of the original Broadway cast of Rent in 1995 and married eight years later in 2003, announced their separation in December 2013.)

Related: PHOTOS: Other big celeb splits in 2013

"Maybe they thought it was cute that we met in Rent," he mused of why fans are so invested in their relationship. "There weren't a lot of couples like us in the theater community—and I know there aren't a lot of performers as talented as she is…and then you have the whole mixed [race] thing. It was easy for people to root for us."

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity couples, then and now

Alas, no amount of rooting could keep them together. These days, they're not even living on the same side of the country; Diggs is in California shooting Murder in the First, while Menzel is in New York doing eight shows a week on Broadway in the new musical If/Then. (The Frozen star performed a song from the show at the June 8 Tony Awards, where she was nominated for Leading Actress in a Musical; she previously won a Tony for playing Elphaba in Wicked but lost the 2014 award to Jessie Mueller.) 

Related: PHOTOS: Idina and other stars at the 2014 Tonys

"Right now, we're still trying to figure out a lot of stuff because we're on different coasts and our son is getting older," Diggs told Redbook. Asked about the most challenging part of parenting Walker, he added, "The toughest…well, lately, it's just leaving for work when I know I have to be away from him for more than a few days."

Maybe he can find a distraction on TV? "I watch some pretty awful reality shows," the Private Practice hunk admitted. "I cried over an episode of Vanderpump Rules."

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