Looking back on their love. Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have moved on from their marriage, but they still have feelings about it that they are willing to share publicly.
The Frozen star and the All American actor met in 1995 while starring in the Broadway production of Rent. They eventually began dating and tied the knot in 2003. Six years later, the pair welcomed their son, Walker.
While Menzel and Diggs seemed like a picture-perfect couple, they announced their split in 2013 after nearly 10 years of marriage. “Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time,” their reps said in a statement. “Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”
The exes finalized their divorce in 2014 and dedicated their efforts to coparenting. The Cinderella actress opened up that year about venturing into dating again while starring in the Broadway musical If/Then.
“I’m open to it. I just don’t have a lot of time,” she explained in her December 2014/January 2015 Redbook cover story. “They’d have to meet me at, like, midnight after the show, and that’s kind of slutty, isn’t it?”
Despite her busy schedule, Menzel met her match in actor Aaron Lohr. Us Weekly confirmed in September 2016 that the duo were engaged, and they secretly tied the knot one year later. (Her ex-husband, meanwhile, dated Selling Sunset’s Amanza Smith for five years after their split and has been linked to Apryl Jones since 2022.
Although the Tony winner has remarried, she and Diggs remain close as they raise their son. “We have a very easy time, I think,” he exclusively told Us in July 2020. “We never make a wrong step because we’re always thinking of Walker first. We both love Walker and want what’s best for him. I think once you do that, it allows for things to be a little bit easier.”
They encouraged Walker to follow his own dreams too, rather than nudging him to pursue acting. “He doesn’t feel the need to follow in our footsteps,” the Private Practice alum said. “He’s doing all this stuff that I didn’t get a chance to. He’s a really great athlete. He plays basketball every day and when he’s not playing basketball, he’s running around throwing a football.”
He added: “He gets to watch us do what we do and we get to watch him do what we never could. So that’s been very, very refreshing.”
To kick off 2023, Menzel shared a rare snap with Walker and Lohr. “Happy New Year everyone, from me and my three curly-haired boys. xoxo,” the actress wrote on January 1 via Instagram.
Scroll through the gallery below to revisit Diggs and Menzel’s relationship through the years.
Looking back on their love. Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have moved on from their marriage, but they still have feelings about it that they are willing to share publicly.
The Frozen star and the All American actor met in 1995 while starring in the Broadway production of Rent. They eventually began dating and tied the knot in 2003. Six years later, the pair welcomed their son, Walker.
While Menzel and Diggs seemed like a picture-perfect couple, they announced their split in 2013 after nearly 10 years of marriage. “Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time,” their reps said in a statement. “Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”
The exes finalized their divorce in 2014 and dedicated their efforts to coparenting. The Cinderella actress opened up that year about venturing into dating again while starring in the Broadway musical If/Then.
“I’m open to it. I just don’t have a lot of time,” she explained in her December 2014/January 2015 Redbook cover story. “They’d have to meet me at, like, midnight after the show, and that’s kind of slutty, isn’t it?”
[jwplayer qfhskFJE-zhNYySv2]Despite her busy schedule, Menzel met her match in actor Aaron Lohr. Us Weekly confirmed in September 2016 that the duo were engaged, and they secretly tied the knot one year later. (Her ex-husband, meanwhile, dated Selling Sunset’s Amanza Smith for five years after their split and has been linked to Apryl Jones since 2022.
Although the Tony winner has remarried, she and Diggs remain close as they raise their son. “We have a very easy time, I think,” he exclusively told Us in July 2020. “We never make a wrong step because we’re always thinking of Walker first. We both love Walker and want what’s best for him. I think once you do that, it allows for things to be a little bit easier.”
They encouraged Walker to follow his own dreams too, rather than nudging him to pursue acting. “He doesn’t feel the need to follow in our footsteps,” the Private Practice alum said. “He’s doing all this stuff that I didn’t get a chance to. He’s a really great athlete. He plays basketball every day and when he’s not playing basketball, he’s running around throwing a football.”
He added: “He gets to watch us do what we do and we get to watch him do what we never could. So that’s been very, very refreshing.”
To kick off 2023, Menzel shared a rare snap with Walker and Lohr. “Happy New Year everyone, from me and my three curly-haired boys. xoxo,” the actress wrote on January 1 via Instagram.
Scroll through the gallery below to revisit Diggs and Menzel’s relationship through the years.
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
1995
The pair met in 1995 while starring in the original Broadway production of Rent. After their split, they made cameos in 2019’s Rent: Live. While married, they also appeared in the 2005 film adaptation alongside her second husband, Lohr.
Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
2003
Menzel and Diggs married on January 11, 2003.
Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
2009
Us reported in March 2009 that the duo were expecting their first child together. They welcomed son Walker that September.
Prior to the arrival, Menzel told Us that Diggs had been ready to have kids since “the day I met him.”
“He wouldn’t talk about marriage, but he’d talk about me having his children,” she noted. “He’s always wanted kids. He grew up with four younger brothers and sisters, so he’s very comfortable around children.”
Credit: Matt Sayles/AP/Shutterstock
2013
Diggs and Menzel announced their separation in December 2013. They shared at the time that their “primary focus and concern [was] for their son” as they moved toward divorce.
Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
2014
The Empire alum reflected on the breakup in the July 2014 issue of Redbook. “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I thought, ‘Oh, man, people are going to trip out [if we split],’” he told the magazine. “Maybe they thought it was cute that we met in Rent. There weren’t a lot of couples like us in the theater community — and I know there aren’t a lot of performers as talented as she is … and then you have the whole mixed [race] thing. It was easy for people to root for us.”
Credit: London Entertainment/Shutterstock
2014
Diggs and Menzel finalized their divorce in December 2014, although the news did not break until the following month.
Credit: MJ Photos/Sttk/Shutterstock
2017
The Best Man Holiday actor told Us in August 2017 that he and the Wicked star “trust each other” when it comes to coparenting.
“I mean, it’s not even about trust. We both love our son so much, that the best way to raise him is to provide him with whatever we can — healthy foods,” he elaborated. “Growing up, even though my parents struggled, I did grow up fairly healthy. I’m convinced that by the way we grew up has a direct correlation to our immune systems. Me and my four brothers and sisters never got sick and I attribute that to the way we grew up and the foods that we ate and my baby mama kinda realized that. We wanna do right by our kid.”
Credit: Matt Sayles/AP/Shutterstock
2019
Diggs shared his secret to amicably raising his son with Menzel in July 2019. “I’m the last person to give advice, but I think you can’t go wrong when you just put the kid first,” he told Us. “Put the kid first and it really prioritizes all the other bull.”
Credit: Shutterstock (2)
2020
The Murder in the First alum jokingly quizzed his ex-wife’s Frozen costar Kristen Bell about her when he hosted the Critics’ Choice Awards in January 2020. “Did she ever talk about me on set?” he asked, to which the Veronica Mars alum replied, “No.”
“OK, that’s cool. Who’s the better actor?” he inquired. Bell responded, “She is,” leading Diggs to quip, “OK, I guess I’ve just gotta ‘let it go.’ Get it?”
Credit: Todd Williamson/January Images/Shutterstock
2021
Menzel called out Diggs in a September 2021 “Carpool Karaoke” sketch on The Late Late Show With James Corden. “My ex-husband, I love him, but he was a little too judgy with me when I used to run lines and then I got very self-conscious,” she said.
Despite the comment, the Set It Up star showed his support. He shared a clip of the Enchanted actress singing “Defying Gravity” during the segment, writing via Instagram, “That’s my baby mama.”