"I just felt out of balance..": Ben Stiller recalls his separation from wife Christine Taylor

The actor said he started experimenting with the idea of producing the movie about his parents, comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

Ben, who shares two children with his wife Christine Taylor, shared that while he was in a steady place with his career, the same could not be said for his personal life at the time.

Taylor and Stiller appeared together in the films Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Tropic Thunder, and Zoolander 2, as well as in the television series Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

"My career had been going along for a long time, but things actually weren't great in my personal life," said Ben, who was separated from Taylor in 2017, admitted in the documentary, "I just felt out of balance and unhappy and kind of disconnected from my family, from my kids and just kind of a little bit lost," as quoted by People.

It was during this time that he realised there was something to be learned.

"I started to think about my parents and all the stress and tension I remember seeing as a kid and the pressure when they were working together and how they stayed together through it," he said, later concluding, "I think I wanted to somehow understand how they did it."

In May 2000, Stiller married actress Christine Taylor at an oceanfront ceremony in Kauai, Hawaii. After 17 years of marriage, Taylor and Stiller separated in 2017.

In February 2022, Ben and Christine declared their reunion after being sighted together several times since their breakup.

While the documentary is filled with archival footage captured by the family as well as audio recordings of everything from his parents' comedy rehearsals to disagreements between the longtime couple, Ben and his sister Amy share that there was seemingly no memento too small for their dad to hold on to, according to People.

Shortly after their initial encounter in 1953, Jerry and Meara were married. When Meara passed away in 2015, they had been married for over 60 years. The comedic duo gained popularity in the 1960s, making 36 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. They worked steadily for much of their lives, pursuing opportunities outside of their acting careers, including Jerry's beloved role as Frank Costanza on Seinfeld and Meara's off-Broadway show After-Play, according to People.

Following his father's death, Ben said, "They found each other and they were there for each other. Not to get too sappy, but I feel like they're connected again."

After its October 5, 2025, premiere at the New York Film Festival, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost will screen in select theatres beginning on October 17 and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ starting on October 24, according to People. (ANI)