Don’t fix what ain’t broken! Rhea Perlman and her estranged husband, Danny DeVito, may have parted ways, but they’re still legally married, and Perlman has no intention of changing her relationship status.
“We’re separated … but I’m not getting a divorce,” she explained to Whoopi Goldberg while appearing alongside the Sister Act star, 63, on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Thursday, May 9.
When host Andy Cohen inquired as to why the Poms star, 71, wouldn’t make their split legal, she replied, “What for? We do live separately. But we see each other a lot!”
In fact, Perlman said her relationship with the Dumbo actor is better than it was in the last five years of their marriage. “It’s much better because all of the tense stuff is gone, it’s not in your face, I’m not in his, he’s not in mine,” she quipped.
While the Cheers alum acknowledged there was a transitional period for their kids, Lucy, 35, Grace, 34, and Jake, 31, following their split, she said that everyone gets along just fine these days. “Everybody’s got a good relationship with Danny and with me and with each other and that’s all we care about.”
The discussion came about after a caller inquired about how the former flames managed to stay such good friends despite their breakup. “Danny and I have always loved each other,” Perlman said, adding, “We have three amazing children together, and we really agree on almost everything important. … We were together for 40 years, 40 years is a long time.”
It’s not the first time the actress has voiced her distaste for divorce: She told the New York Post in March 2018 that she had no interest in going through the process. “We’ve been together a very long time, so there’s a lot of love and history,” she said at the time. “We agree on enough things, so why [ruin] that with the yucky things that come with a divorce?”
Us Weekly first reported that the couple were going their separate ways in October 2012. Though they were “working on” a reconciliation later that year, they called things off again in March 2017.
The twosome met in 1971, when Perlman went to see a friend in a stage production of the Shrinking Bride, which DeVito also starred in. The Matilda costars tied the knot 11 years later in January 1982.
