Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church aren’t divorced. They’re just getting one on TV.
In a Facebook Live conversation Thursday, the stars of the upcoming HBO series “Divorce” talked to HuffPost’s Alyona Minkovski about what it was like to portray a couple on the verge of divorce even though they’ve personally never experienced it.
“I think even if it’s not our own experiences, it’s relatable, the emotions are relatable, people’s response, the concern, the friendships involvement,” Parker, who’s been married to fellow actor Matthew Broderick since 1997, said. “I think we’ve all been privy to it and seen it in some way.”
For his part, Church said having a few cancelled engagements under his belt taught him quite a bit about what it takes to maintain a marriage.
“As soon as the possibility of being married was presented, suddenly it seemed like these burdens were heaped upon the relationships,” he said. “What we quickly determined both times is that we didn’t have a steady enough relationship to hold that up.”
The actors also discussed why people in committed relationships, married or otherwise, grow apart. At one point in the series, Church’s character fails to realize his wife is sad. It’s a pivotal moment for the couple, Parker said.
“At that point, she kind of gave up,” she said. “I think once you’ve decided the other person isn’t a part of you in some way, that will wear at the fabric.”
Watch the full conversation with Parker and Church below.
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