The star from Disney’s legendary blockbuster franchise Frozen is finally going public with what led to her painful divorce, and by her own admission, both race and religion were factors in the decision to call it quits.
Actress, songstress, and Broadway star Idina Menzel, who has lent her unmistakable voice to Queen Elsa in Disney’s Frozen, Frozen II, and (soon) Frozen III, has finally revealed some of the details that led to her divorce from actor and fellow Broadway star, Taye Diggs.
During an episode of the podcast, Dinner’s on Me, hosted by actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Menzel shared some of the “complicated reasons” for her split from ex-husband Taye Diggs.
A Match Made on Broadway
Idina Menzel and actor Taye Diggs first met in New York in the original Broadway production of Rent in the 1990s in their roles as Maureen Johnson and Benjamin Coffin III, respectively. They appeared in Just a Kiss (2002) before tying the knot in 2003. Two years later, both Menzel and Diggs appeared in the film version of Rent, and in 2009, the couple welcomed their son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs.
But after just ten years of marriage, the Broadway super couple was no more, as they decided to end their marriage.
Menzel Dishes on “Dinner’s On Me”
In a recent episode of the Dinner’s On Me podcast, hosted by Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Menzel opened up about her divorce from Taye Diggs, noting that both race and religion played roles in the relationship’s demise.
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According to Menzel, the fact that she and Diggs were an interracial couple played a significant role in the couple’s split in 2013.
“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. She went on to say that the “multifaceted racial challenges” they experienced had a much greater impact on their relationship than their individual acting career successes did.
“[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,” Menzel explained. “And it seemed like there was some disappointment in the community with him because he was married to a little white Jewish girl.”
Menzel shared with Ferguson that years ago, in the theater community, relationships didn’t seem nearly as affected by differences in ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation, but she said that things were different once the couple stepped away from Broadway and had more roles in Hollywood.
“So, I took that on, too,” Menzel said. “That was stuff we had to deal with. It was less about being successful and more about that stuff.”
Menzel and Diggs married in January 2003, but in December 2013, they separated, opting to co-parent their then-four-year-old son, Walker Diggs, while living separately. Their divorce was finalized in 2014. Before they divorced, the Menzel-Diggs duo had the reputation of a power couple within the world of entertainment.
“[Taye] 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 of their split.
Menzel had kind words as she spoke about her ex-husband, saying that the pair continue to be supportive of each other to this day, an entire decade after their initial separation.
Thank you! ‘fixmybroken marr iage’ G m a_ i L_c_ om.,, My Ex-Lover has finally… reconciled.