Robert De Niro ‘splits from wife Grace after more than 20 years together’

Robert De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower have split up after more than 20 years of marriage, it has been claimed.

According to Page Six, the couple – who share two children, 20-year-old Elliot and six-year-old Helen, together – are no longer living together.

A source told the news outlet: “They are not living together at this time.”

Meanwhile, another source added to People magazine: “Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope or want them to.”

While the couple are yet to comment publicly on the reports, it’s claimed they will be announcing the news in the coming weeks.

De Niro is regularly pictured with his wife at public events and red carpet parties, but she didn’t join him when he arrived on the red carpet on Monday at a MoMa event in New York.

The couple married in 1997 after dating for nearly a decade, before briefly splitting up in 1999. Despite the actor filing for divorce at the time, they remained married and went on to enjoy almost two decades together.

Reaffirming their love for each other, they later renewed their wedding vows in 2004 at a ceremony in front of friends including Meryl Streep and De Niro’s Meet the Parents co-star Ben Stiller.

Hightower previously opened up about the start of their relationship in a 2013 New York Times profile, saying: “It was an ease-in. It wasn’t a whirlwind.” They met while she was working at Mr Chow in London.

De Niro – who is notoriously private about his love life – was previously married to actress Diahnne Abbott, from 1976 to 1988. They had a son, Raphael, in 1976, as well as Abbott’s daughter Drena – who the actor later adopted. 

He also has two children with ex Toukie Smith, twin boys Aaron and Julian.

Speaking in a rare interview about marriage in 2013, De Niro told Katie Couric a happy union takes “a lot of give and take, standing your ground, because then you keep the respect you started out with”, the Mail Online reports.

He later added to the Independent in 2014: “The only thing I would say is that if you get married, it’s easier probably not to have children if you’re going to split up – it makes life simpler.”

Are you a fan of Robert De Niro? Are you sad to hear the claims about his marriage split?