Robert De Niro And Wife Grace Hightower Split After More Than 20 Years Of Marriage

It’s sadly over between Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, Us Weekly confirmed on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 20. Page Six was the first to report the news that the 75-year-old actor and his wife, 63, have split after more than 20 years of marriage. “They are not living together at this time,” a source close to the longtime couple told the outlet.

“[Robert] and Grace are breaking up. He’s been at a few [events] since the very end of the summer without her — and rumor has it they are done,” the insider added. Robert and Grace — who is known as a philanthropist, socialite, actress, and singer — previously married in 1997 after dating for nearly a decade and are parents to two children, son Elliot De Niro, 20, and daughter Helen Grace De Niro, 6.

This actually isn’t the first time that Robert and Grace have separated during their decades-long relationship. Back in 1999 — just two years after they tied the knot — the Goodfellas star filed for divorce and the pair had a contentious custody battle over their son. They eventually reconciled and renewed their vows years later in 2004 before welcoming their daughter via surrogate in 2011.

During a 2013 New York Times interview, Robert referred to his romance with Grace as “an ease-in” and said it “wasn’t a whirlwind.” Grace also publicly spoke about their relationship during a sit-down with Katie Couric that same year and revealed the secret to her happy marriage was “a lot of give and take, standing your ground, because then you keep the respect you started out with.”

Robert’s marriage to Grace is his second. The Oscar winner was previously hitched to actress Diahnne Abbott from 1976 until 1988. The former couple has two kids — daughter Drena De Niro, 47, and son Raphael De Niro, 42 — together. Robert is additionally a father to twin sons Aaron Kendrick De Niro and Julian Henry De Niro from a past relationship with model Toukie Smith.