Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs attend the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards.Photo:Jason Merritt/WireImage
Jason Merritt/WireImage
Idina Menzelis opening up about her 2013 split with ex-husbandTaye Diggs.
TheDisenchantedstar, 52, revealed toJesse Tyler Furgusonduring a Tuesday episode of hisDinner’s on Mepodcastthat the response over the “interracial aspect” of her marriage with Diggs, 52, affected their relationship.
“The thing that came into play more, I would say — he’s talked about it too — is the interracial aspect of it,” Menzel shared when asked if their career successes played a role.
Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs attend Chopard at 20th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in 2012.Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Menzel — who met Diggs during the original production of Broadway’sRentin the mid-’90s — then explained that “it seemed like there was disappointment in the community with him because he was married to a little White Jewish girl from some show that we don’t even remember.”
As she told Ferguson, she “took that on, too” and it became “stuff we had to deal with.” She added: “It was less about being successful and more about that kind of stuff.”
Diggs previously opened up about the pair’s split during a 2014 conversation withRedbook. “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],' " he said at the time.
“Maybe they thought it was cute that we met inRent,” Diggs added. “There weren’t a lot of couples like us in the theater community — and Iknowthere 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.”
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Menzel and Diggs married in 2003 and welcomed their son,Walker, in 2009. They announced that they split inDecember 2013. Menzel then married actorAaron Lohrin September 2017 and Diggs began a relationship withApryl Jonesin January 2022.
Despite their divorce, the pair still prioritize being co-parents to Walker, 14.
In 2022, Diggs told host Janine Rubenstein on thePEOPLE Every Day podcastthat Menzel “has a career and she has her own relationships and she still makes sure that Walkeris where he needs to bewhen he needs.”
“He’s got the best coaches and the best teachers, and we’re at the best schools, and it’s all because of her,” the actor continued.
And back in August, Menzel opened up about raising Walker. During an appearance onTodaywith Hoda & Jenna, she said that her teen has grown to have hisown interests— and that it doesn’t always include his mom’s singing. "
He’s super proud of me when he actually sees me sing,” she said. “But it’s at home that he just kinda tells me to be quiet.” She added: “Oh, in the car, if I sing in front of his friends…Well no, he doesn’t just give me the stink eye, he’ll be like, ‘Mom, zip it.’ "
source: people.com
