In December 2020, Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman announced that they were getting a divorce. The parents of two daughters — Olive, 9, and Frankie, 7, — were married for four years. The two had an amicable split. But later, the Ever After star said that she'd never remarry again. Recently, she also talked about the struggles of maintaining a co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband. Here's everything you should know about their relationship.
How Drew Barrymore & Will Kopelman First Met
The two started dating in 2011. It was after Barrymore's on-and-off relationship with Justin Long. "Sometimes whom you least expect is the person you fall for," Kopelman said of meeting the actress. "It was a combination of moments: watching her with my nephew. Traveling with her. Going to museums with her. I knew, adding them up, this was it." The Scream star also revealed that it wasn't love at first sight. "
"It was never really love at first sight," Barrymore told InStyle. "Will struck a lot of my pragmatic sides. He was someone who was always reachable on the phone, someone who was a classy human being, someone who has this incredible blueprint of a family that I don't have." She also admitted that Kopelman won her over with his kindness. "At the same time, what I love about him is that he embodies the power of choice," she added. "He chooses to be a good person every day." After a year of dating, the two got engaged in January 2012. They tied the knot after a few months.
Why Drew Barrymore & Will Kopelman Divorced
In a joint statement, the two announced that they were getting a divorce, saying that it wouldn't affect their bond as a family. "Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family," they said. "Divorce might make one feel like a failure, but eventually you start to find grace in the idea that life goes on. Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority." Soon after that, a source revealed that they'd been having marital problems.
"They've had marriage issues for a while," the insider told People. "There was tension over where to live." Apparently, Barrymore wanted to raise their kids in Los Angeles while Kopelman was drawn to New York City. They're also "polar opposites" in many ways. It's too bad since the actress couldn't help but gush about Kopelman as a father.
"Honestly, I don't know how it is for other couples but really I like watching him be a father," she said a few months before their divorce. "I know everyone says you're supposed to put your coupledom first. But I really love it being all about the kids. Maybe that’s my compensating for not having parents myself or a childhood but right now, the focus is about how we're figuring things out as parents."
Why Drew Barrymore Struggles To Co-Parent With Will Kopelman
In 2021, Barrymore told Sunday Today that she and Kopelman agreed to keep a "united and connected" family following their split. "That [getting divorced] was the last thing I wanted to do for my daughters," she said. "His family and I sort of made the most important choice: to be so together and united and connected." She added that they're doing well with the new arrangement. "Like divorce, things fell into place finally." The actress continued. "It's amazing that my kids and I are happy. Because there's been a lot of times I really did question will we be happy? And we are." But recently, the actress opened up about its downside.
"You miss them when you're apart because that wasn't the plan," she told Parents magazine of sharing custody with Kopelman. Still, she appreciates the advantage that "both parents get a day off." No big deal, really. Another thing: even if she can afford help, Barrymore is committed to raising the children herself. She actually took a break from acting to focus on her children. "I just got right on the idea of, where do I need to be the most? Fifty-fifty would be ideal but life doesn't work like that. Life is messy," she said of her decision. "It was just really challenging and I felt overwhelmed. I made a lot of decisions and I definitely changed my work life to suit my parenthood."