Fred Armisen and Natasha Lyonne dated for seven years, from 2014 until they broke up in 2022. They went under the radar for so long that I honestly had either forgotten or had no idea in the first place that they were dating until I read Hecate’s post about their break-up. As you may or may not recall, Fred and Natasha broke up over a swimming pool. She wanted one so that she could keep swimming laps during the pandemic and he did not.
Fred appeared on the July 9 episode of my boo David Duchvony’s Fail Better podcast. The premise of Fail Better is for David and his guests to really dissect some of their failures and how those failures shaped who they are today. Fred brought up his relationship with Natasha, saying that even though their relationship was over, he considered it to be a “successful relationship” because it “ended well.” In fact, he looks back at it with a “peaceful happiness” and is glad that they are still friends.
“I had a girlfriend for seven years recently, Natasha, and I was with her for a long time,” Armisen, 57, said on the Tuesday, July 9, episode of David Duchovny’s “Fail Better” podcast with Lemonade Media. “I felt like it was a successful relationship.”
Armisen explained that he “liked the feeling” of his and Lyonne’s relationship and how their dynamic was different compared to his past connections. While the pair called it quits in 2022, the Saturday Night Live alum shared that ending on good terms with Lyonne, 45, showed signs of growth and maturity.
“That ended well and, like, we’re still friends. It made me feel like it was part of getting older that I could approach being in a relationship in a different way,” he reflected. “I can look back at that relationship with a sort of peaceful happiness, and that’s how it was.”
While Armisen is aware many people wouldn’t consider a relationship ending in a breakup to be an accomplishment, he views it differently since everyone’s situation is unique.
“As I get older I see so many couples I know break up. I don’t mean that in a negative or a cynical way,” he noted. “It makes me go, life is like this, there’s different versions of relationships and different versions of success. What’s great is that it just calms everything down.”
Lyonne and Armisen began dating in 2014 after being introduced by mutual pal Maya Rudolph. The pair went on to date until 2022 when the Russian Doll actress announced their breakup.
“I had been [in Los Angeles] living with Fred and during COVID. I honestly think we broke up because I wanted a swimming pool,” Lyonne, told The Hollywood Reporter in an April 2022 profile. “We love each other just about as much as two people can love each other and we’re still talking all the time, but Freddy doesn’t like a swimming pool.”
She continued: “It might seem like a mundane reason for a breakup, but during that pandemic, you’ve got to get your laps — I’m like Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer. So, I got myself a house with a pool out in Los Angeles. So that’s the real scandal. I guess I finally am an actual bicoastal.”
Despite their split, the twosome remain friends. When Lyonne hosted SNL for the first time in May 2022, Arimsen was by her side for the monologue.
“You know, Freddie and I, we dated for seven years,” Lyonne joked to the audience. “Yeah, we’re the only couple who had a sex tape nobody wanted to buy.”
Hey, it’s great that they’re both so amicable about their breakup. So, I don’t know if I’m alone in this or not, but Fred’s love life has always sort of intrigued me. His breakup with Natasha is the complete opposite of the end of his very short-lived marriage to Elisabeth Moss, which ended acrimoniously in 2010. Moss has described it as “traumatic and awful and horrible.” In 2016, Fred told Marc Maron that their sudden divorce was related to his own infidelity and “intimacy issues.” If that was the case, I make zero excuses for Fred’s behavior and don’t fault Elisabeth for being so angry because I would have been hurt and pissed, too. Perhaps Fred and Natasha were a better match (which absolutely does not make it Moss’ fault for his cheating!) or maybe he just had a moment of growth. Either way, good for the two of them for being so mature about something that seems to have naturally come to its conclusion. Most importantly, though, I’m glad that Natasha prioritized herself and got that swimming pool! Some things, you don’t compromise on.
Photos credit: Peter West/ACE Pictures / Bang Showbiz / Avalon, Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram/Natasha Lyonne
Wow, I have heard a lot of couple breaking up during covid, but never over swimming pool. It is like a seinfeld episode. Natasha has been through so much, it is nice to hear that Fred wasn’t total asshole to her.
Poker Face was fabulous and I am wildly anticipating the new season. And. Glad she got her pool and prioritized herself.
If he didn’t want a pool but they truly wanted to stay together, he could have just ignored it. It’s not like he was gonna have to take care of it himself- they could afford professional maintenance. Sounds like they were looking for a reason and “swimming pool” was convenient for both of them. [shrug]
The swimming pool was the last straw, most likely. It happens.
Glad to hear her side matches his more or less. The first thing I thought about the headline was about a guy I dated a few months, we broke up, and then a month later a mutual friend reported that the guy had told him we were best friends. I replied best friends who never talk 🙄.
Anyway, my favorite quote about Fred remains Elizabeth saying his greatest acting role is pretending to be a normal human 😂
Nope, I believe Elisabeth Moss, and I don’t think people like that change. I’d guess that he cheated on Natasha too, and she just tolerated it.
Or he got better at being upfront about being non monogamous or she’s fine with non monogamous relationships or he matured and healed and addressed his ugly guy wounds so he didn’t need to cheat just because someone was willing to sleep with him. There are many possible ways to choose to view a situation.
Ok can anyone tell me what’s the deal with him and Riki Lindhome? I saw one person connected to them say they were married? and is it his kid that she had? and She’s coming out with new music video that features him?
It’s not his kid, she used a donor I’m pretty sure. Not sure if they’re married though.
Elizabeth once responded to compliments for Fred as an impersonator: “Yeah. He was good at impersonating a human being.”
At least – that’s what I think she said.
Is she still into Scientology?
She was raised a Scientologist, which was not her doing, but it leaves a mark on you.
If she is still a Scientologist as an adult then I’m going to say based on what I know about Scientology then she too is imitating a normal person.
My eyes rolled so hard when I heard it was Elizabeth Moss complaining about him. Not excusing the cheating, but maybe that was his only way out of the scientology of it all.
She is way into $cientology still. So her gauge of “normal” and “human being” is very different.
I’m sure Fred wanted to get the hell away from the “church”. Should have broken up instead of cheating. So he gets an F for cheating, but I upgrade it to a D+ because scientology.
He seems like a super funny guy who sucks at relationships.
I don’t buy it. There’s more to the story. There’s more he’s not saying.
More Natasha Lyonne posts! Love hearing anything she has to say. Always funny and interesting. Fred Armisen on the other hand – not so much.
I think all those SNL guys must be intensely messy partners.