Rhea Perlman Opened Up About Her Reluctance To Divorce Danny DeVito

Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito hit it off the moment they met. It was 1971; Rhea sat in the audience of her friend’s play. Instead of focusing on her pal, her attention stuck with the stocky guy on stage, a comedic natural.

After the show, Rhea was introduced to Danny and both could sense their wickedly funny personalities had found an instant match. Throwing caution to the wind, they moved in together just two weeks later. 

Best friends didn't begin to describe it. For 12 years, Rhea and Danny built their relationship on mutual respect and genuine fun. It wasn’t until 1982 that they'd officially swapped vows becoming husband and wife.

Once the rings were on their fingers, Rhea and Danny decided to expand their family. They had two daughters, Lucy and Grace, and a son Jacob. Adding kids to the mix only strengthened their bond; the DeVitos were happy.

The world got a taste of what it must be like as a fly on the Devito Perlman’s wall during the couple’s shared moments onscreen. In his breakout sitcom role on Taxi, husband and wife played opposite one another as love interests.

When he found himself in the director’s chair for the fantastical children’s book adaptation Matilda, Danny made the perfect casting decision placing himself and Rhea as the wryly dysfunctional Wormwoods. Despite their character's rottenness, they were easy to like.

As Rhea racked up Emmys for performance as the tough sarcastic waitress Carla on the sitcom Cheers, she had a loving supportive partner who was just as busy compiling an eclectic variety of film projects and dabbling behind the camera.

Danny showed versatility jumping into films after his sitcom success. Whether he was hamming it up in comedies like Twins, and Throw Mama From The Train, or taking on the role of the hairbrained bad guys in blockbuster vehicles, he climbed comfortably into household name status. 

On the shortlist of healthy happy couples in show business, Rhea and Danny’s names were always at the top of the list. Their relationship proved that it’s possible to make something last with a grin on your face in such a shallow, tumultuous industry.

So it stunned everybody when the couple announced their separation in October of 2012. Neither Danny or Rhea publicly acknowledged the split, though sources close to the family pointed to the fact that their kids were grown and out of the house.

Tempers that flared between the famous parents were brushed under the rug for the sake of their children — not anymore. Still, five months apart to cool off and reexamine their thoughts was enough to make Danny and Rhea rekindle their romance in March of 2013.

What could come between them after 40 years together? Rumors surfaced that Rhea finally had enough of Danny’s wandering eye. The actor might not be regarded for leading man good looks, but his charisma and charm are apparently just as effective with the ladies.

It looked like the prospect of splitting up for good triggered a new chapter for Rhea and Danny. Their careers were still thriving, with Danny winning a brand new legion of fans from his role as Frank on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. 

Their rekindling was amicably snuffed out in March of 2017 when Danny and Rhea agreed that it was better for both of them to walk away. They filed for a legal separation and for the first time since the early seventies and divided their house keys.

For the first time in their children’s lives, Mom and Dad were living separately. Luckily, Rhea and Danny were on the exact same page when it came to their family dynamic. No one was angry or harboring resentments. 

After decades of answering the question “what’s the secret for a lasting marriage in Hollywood?” Rhea and Danny could officially give an honest and effective answer. For them, living separately made a heck of a difference.

Separation is a tragic blow for most people's marriage, however, Danny and Rhea aren't your average couple. During an appearance on Andy Cohen’s show Watch What Happens Live, Rhea gave an answer to why she and Danny haven’t yet signed divorce papers.

Now that they don’t share the same home, Rhea feels like her relationship with her sort-of ex has exponentially improved. The final step of ending the marriage isn’t necessary, “We agree on things enough, so why [ruin] that with the yucky things that come with a divorce?”

“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,” Rhea continued. She explained that since taking the plunge to separate, their communication is better than it was during their last five years of marriage.

Danny offered the same sentiments about Rhea during a red carpet interview. Even without the added pressure of pleasing a spouse, he said he and Rhea remain extremely close friends. The busy actors have a mutual understanding, which helps in a showbiz marriage. 

When Danny needs an extra shoulder to cry on that isn't his pseudo-ex-wife Rhea, he turns to his best friend of many decades, Michael Douglas. The two have been tight since meeting at acting school in the '60s, and they share everything with each other. In fact, Douglas even clued DeVito into one pretty intimate detail about his own marriage.

Douglas confessed that if he and his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, were ever to divorce, she would receive $2.8 million a year from her ex. Should they divorce because he cheated, she would get a $5 million bonus! Having never signed a pre-nup himself, DeVito was a little stunned by this admission. But believe it or not, things get even more absurd.

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