Ben Stiller on second chance with wife Christine Taylor

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Photo / Getty

Ben Stiller is determined to “work at” his marriage to Christine Taylor because he’s “so grateful” they are back together.

The pair have been married for more than two decades, but they were apart for around three years after deciding to separate. They reconciled during the Covid pandemic and Stiller admits he’s not going to let their second chance at love go to waste.

During an appearance on TV show The View, the actor, comedian, and producer explained: “I don’t know how it happened other than we both wanted it. Now, every day that we’re together, we do not take for granted.

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“At least, I know I don’t, because you know it could go away and that to me is the gift for our relationship is that we have that every day, and I really am so happy that we’re together.”

He went on to add: “You have to work at it ... I dunno. I’m just grateful ... I don’t have any great relationship advice other than I’m so grateful that we’re back together, and I think now - I think sometimes people shouldn’t get back together - sometimes it’s not the right thing. For us it was the right thing.”

It comes after Stiller - who is dad to Ella, 22, and Quinlin, 19, with Taylor - admitted he never felt the couple’s split was going to be permanent.

He told the New York Times: “When we separated, it was just having space to see what our relationship was, what my life felt like when we weren’t in that relationship, how much I loved our family unit.

“It was like three or four years that we weren’t together, but we always were connected. In my mind, I never didn’t want us to be together.

“I don’t know where Christine was, you’d have to ask her, but Covid put us all together in the same house.”

The pair - who married in 2000 - moved back in together during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, but it took time for them to get back together.

He recalled: “It was almost a year of living in the same house before we were actually together. But I’m so grateful for it, and I think not that many people do come back together when they separate.

“There’s nothing like that, when you come back. You have so much more appreciation for what you have, because we know we could not have it.”