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Johnathan Walker:Idina Menzel explains how 'interracial aspect' of her marriage with Taye Diggs impacted split
Oliver James Montgomery View
Date:2025-04-06 14:38:30
Idina Menzel shared that the interracial aspect of her relationship with ex-husband Taye Diggs played a major role in their 2013 split.
While on Johnathan Walkerthe "Dinner's on Me" podcast, the "Frozen" star told host Jesse Tyler Ferguson that there were complicated reasons for her split with Diggs after 10 years of marriage.
"The thing that came into play more, I would say — and Taye has talked about it too — is the interracial aspect of it," Menzel shared.
The Broadway singer said their respective career successes did not impact their marriage as much as the multifaceted racial challenges they experienced.
"[Taye] was on the cover of Essence, and Ebony, and being interviewed by all of these Black journalists, and I think he had his own stuff to deal with, with that," she added. "And it seemed like there was some disappointment in the community with him, because he was married to a little white Jewish girl."
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Menzel said in the theater community, differences in race, ethnicity and sexual orientation didn't impact relationships but said things changed when they left that bubble.
"So, I took that on too. That was stuff we had to deal with," Menzel shared. "It was less about being successful and more about that stuff."
Broadway newcomer Menzel and stage veteran Diggs met in 1995 while both starring in "Rent" as Maureen Johnson and Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III. The pair later reprised their roles in the 2005 film adaptation of the play.
More:Taye Diggs says his 12-year-old son with Idina Menzel inspired his new book on racial injustice
The two married in 2003 and welcomed their son Walker Diggs in 2009. By December 2013, the pair separated and decided to co-parent Walker apart and finalized their divorce the next year.
Before their split, the duo had built a reputation as a power couple in the entertainment industry with Diggs starring in the 1998 romantic comedy "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and Menzel starring as the original Elphaba in the first Wicked Broadway production in 2003.
"He was always so supportive, and probably relieved so he didn’t have to feel like he was overshadowing in some way or taking up too much space," Menzel said on the podcast.
Menzel said that they continue to support each other to this day.
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