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Ethan Hawke has little preparation for dealing with a public breakup. The Dead Poets Society star opened up about the difficulties of going through a divorce in public, explaining how the end of his marriage to Uma Thurman in 2003 led to him striking a deal with their children, Maya Hawke, 27, and Levon Hawke, 23.
"The public eye is like gasoline, but what makes divorce hard is the stuff that makes it difficult for everyone—the family elements and how to help the kids through it," Ethan told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Nov. 20. "I'm so envious of people who have amicable splits."
And knowing people were hanging onto every word he said, The Black Phone actor—who also shares kids Clementine Jane Hawke, 17, and Indiana Hawke, 14, with wife Ryan Shawhughes Hawke—committed to saying as little about the divorce as possible.
“I can’t really talk about this because I vowed to my kids so many times not to talk about the divorce in public,” he explained. “But one thing I will say is if you get the privilege of traveling the world, you realize that everywhere men and women have a tremendous amount of difficulty staying married.”
Since the split, Ethan, 55, has offered little insight into his divorce from the Kill Bill actress. However, more than 20 years after Ethan and Uma’s uncoupling, the dad of four opened up about his true feelings regarding the cheating rumors that followed him at the time.
"It's humiliating," Ethan admitted to GQ in an interview published Sept. 1. "It's almost humiliating even when they're saying positive things."
Reflecting on her five-year romance with Ethan, Uma, also 55—whom the Hamlet actor met on the set of 1997's Gattaca before tying the knot in 1998—has also remained cordial over the years for the sake of the pair’s kids.
"I cannot participate in anything critical about my children's father," she told Parade in 2006. "I just need to keep peace. I think it's fair to say that I haven't said one mean thing, and I'm not going to start now. It's terrible for my family."
That said, Uma was also frustrated with the media coverage of her divorce at the time.
"If I see one more headline about it, I'll gag," she said. "I'm just another American woman who was in an unfulfilled marriage that fell apart."
Rather, she turned her attention to working through the challenging chapter in her life. In her words, "You need to want to be forgiving."
