Drew Barrymore’s split covers this week’s People and US Magazines. Each article mentions that she tried to make her relationship work for some time, that it ultimately didn’t fit with what she’s looking for in life, and that she and Will are too different to last long term. One thing that both articles emphasize is that Drew is happy to move forward, and this is consistent with what she told PopSugar during her interview over the weekend. It sounds like she’s relieved to break the news to the public:
In the new issue of Us Weekly, a source says the pair’s decision to separate just two months shy of their fourth wedding anniversary is devastating to Barrymore. Already a two-time divorcée… “she feels like a failure,” says the source.
Echoes another friend… “She’s disappointed this didn’t work. They both expected to be together forever.”
But ultimately the pair, who started dating in 2011, couldn’t overcome their differences. Former child star Barrymore — who spent her adolescence doing cocaine in the bathrooms of NYC clubs and became an emancipated minor at age 14 — and Kopelman, the 38-year-old straight-laced Connecticut boarding school grad and son of former Chanel CEO Arie and his bride Coco, “are total opposites,” says the source. “Things began crumbling shortly after they were married and the relationship unraveled over time…”
Over time, though, acting the part [of wife and mother] became tough for the Flower beauty line and Barrymore Wines founder. Says another Barrymore insider, “Will is this great guy from a stable family and everything she didn’t have growing up, but it just wasn’t making her happy.” – From US Magazine
Dividing their time between L.A. and New York City, the family settled into their Park Avenue apartment so Olive could go to preschool. Yet sources say the couple’s differences became harder to ignore.
“Will is very organized and disciplined about his life,” says an industry source. Barrymore took a breezier approach but threw herself into multi-tasking between her business empire – she created Flower Beauty and Flower Eyewear along with her film production company – and her daughters: “Drew was always busy with her projects as well as being a good mom.”
The couple “tried to work through things for some time,” adds the insider, before finally deciding to end the marriage. “This was not an overnight decision. They both really wanted to make it work.”
While a family source says Kopelman is “saddened,” the couple “really are friends,” says a source close to the actress. “And they fundamentally agree on everything when it comes to their girls.” As for Barrymore, “she’s disappointed,” adds the insider. “But she’s optimistic for the future.” – From People
Drew’s divorce rollout is very Jennifer Garner-esque, like we’re hearing the woman’s side (which makes more sense in this case because Drew is the famous one), and it’s told across multiple outlets with slightly different wording and the same message. Both parties are striving for civility and putting their children first. It’s presented in a way that makes it all very relatable. This is Drew’s branding, and you get the sense that she’s announcing her return to the public at the same time as her divorce. She wants to reboot her life and her career and get back to what she knows.
Do you remember how celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser said there were splits coming at the end of March? I bet Laura represents Drew, although we haven’t had confirmation of that yet. Jennifer Garner, who is represented by Wasser, has had several US Weekly covers. I wonder if there’s some kind of deal going on there, because Wasser’s recent profile specifically mentioned her clients’ divorces on the cover of US Weekly. As far as I can find, Drew and Garner don’t share a publicist.
Hopefully it is true that they agree on the children’s interests.
Preachy as this may sound, after three brief, failed marriages, she needs to step back before embarking on another marriage/family attempt. Collateral damage does occur.
I still think that she wanted to start a family with a stable kind guy than she was in love of him.
Kate Moss did the same thing.She loves wild guys but she had a child with someone that she knew to be a good guy.
She was bored. Good guys are not all that exciting. For her it eventually meant boredom. He deserves better.
@Sabrine: i agree with you.
Sads.
My husband says I’m a marriage- hater but we’ve been together for nearly 30 years.
Maybe that’s the reason! 😉
She’s been married and split three times.
I understand getting married if you want to have children – I guess- but why do rich people get married if they don’t want children?
I don’t get it.
Taxes? Property? Benefits?
I’m helping my older daughter plan her first wedding.
They don’t want children AT ALL, neither are religious and I still don’t really get the point of this very expensive party.
I’m still wondering why the reaction to three-time divorcee Barrymore is so much different from the reaction to three-time divorcee Berry. I understand the nasty custody battle is one difference, but Berry faced a lot of vitriol from people who have no idea what her partners are like. Moreover, Berry also notoriously had a rough childhood, but I didn’t see any of the sympathy for her upbringing that Drew has received.
the commenters in these DB stories tend to assume she is the most wonderful person ever, poor drew!
while she had a bad childhood, and managed some adult success with some movies of dubious quality, it doesnt mean she might not be hell to live with
I get your point but I think it’s partly (not all) due to two things: one, the resevoir of good will people had for her from the start–little girl in beloved movie, trainwreck life, pulled herself from the ashes–that’s a compelling story going back into childhood whereas Halle wasn’t famous until she was an adult and two the lack of drama in just about all of Drew’s marriages and relationships. Both divorces, and most likely this one, went off smoothly and I don’t think any of her exes have spoken ill of her–she seems friendly with just about all and has worked with some afterwards. I don’t think people see Halle’s childhood–what they’ve known of her has just been drama. But her divorce from Martinez seems to be an exeption to her history–everyone was waiting for serious drama there and it’s been pretty quiet.
That’s a good observation – I guess it’s true more people pull for Drew for some reason. She does give off that lovable hippie child vibe, whereas Halle Berry comes off as crazy. Is it fair? Probably not, but image counts for a lot in Hollywood.
lol, I married and didn’t want kinds BUT I didn’t marry till I was 36 and I didn’t have a wedding. I couldn’t have imagined marrying when I was in my early 20s, I didn’t even know who I was back then so I can understand where you are coming from.
People get married because they want to be married. Yes, even if they don’t want kids, GASP!!
Children aren’t the end all be all for relationships. They aren’t the only indicator of true love. Marriage without them isn’t merely a business transaction.
You know what’s even more shocking, nancypants?
People who aren’t married sometimes actually DECIDE to have kids, too. WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!
I feel kind of bad for your daughter that she has so little support for her “expensive party”. It’s her WEDDING. She’s joining her great love in a lifetime of commitment, and you can’t figure out if it’s for taxes or property?
I can’t think of anything else to say at this point. I really can’t.
Do you refer to it as her “first” wedding when speaking to her? That sounds kinda shitty. Doesn’t it imply she’ll wed a second time? Way to be supportive mom.
Oh y’all, I’m being very supportive and I don’t refer to it as her “first wedding” to her.
I stated that HERE to strangers in that she is only 25 and hasn’t been married before, so, settle down and live your dreams and most marriages fail, children or not.
Oh, and she has a lot more money than he does just so you know.
LOL – I didn’t realize that until you pointed it out. I guess that parents aren’t always 100% behind the person their child is marrying. And with the reply to your comment from OP, I guess she doesn’t think it’ll last (to strangers).
It either works or it doesn’t. I think it’s more about maturity than age that should be factored. Some people age, but never mature. Some people, with their own life experiences and what not just seem so much older than their age.
Perhaps Nancypants knows things about the relationship that the rest of us don’t that make her feel a little less certain of the long term prospects of this expensive wedding. It happens. I had a conversation with my dad on my sister’s wedding day saying it wouldn’t last more than 2 years. Did we tell her? No. We did not. We were supportive and genuinely wanted it to work out. But we had suspicions about the groom, which turned out to be true. Turned out he was a tad on the abusive side. 18 months later she left him, and we thanked God that no children were involved.
Thanks
Every person’s and couple’s situation is different. My husband and I are lapsed Catholics and childfree but we had mid-sized wedding so that our parents could celebrate our commitment to one another, our intention to form a family and be together for life. For Catholic parents, weddings are a super important Life Step — marriage is a sacrament in the Church — and we just knew they wouldn’t “get” our relationship unless I got a white dress and he got a tuxedo, I marched down the aisle to him and we had words said by a priest, and then we had a big party afterwards that was 98% for our parents and all of our older relatives. Even though we had been together for 5 years at that point and were living together, in our families’ eyes, our relationship dates to our wedding day.
My husband and I don’t want kids, but we both wanted to get married. I make more than him, so it wasn’t about me needing security or wanting his money, as you so profanely suggest. We wanted to celebrate our commitment with our families and friends, just as we would want to celebrate with those same People if one of us got a big promotion or something like that. Not sure why that’s so hard to understand.
The bible (if you are into that) clearly states marriage is between a man and a woman, never does it say man + woman + kids.
Marriage is not about kids, it’s about two people making a promise before God to take care of each other and love until death do you part.
So what do you do when the kids grow up and move out? Divorce your husband?
Also benefits, tax reasons and it’s a lot better to be married if and when you own property together.
In my case, it was probably the only time that I would get to see all of MY extended family together, and for both of our families to meet and mingle (being that I had moved out of state). People generally don’t make the long trip for other milestones. …So there are lots of other reasons that people throw weddings, too, that make sense for them.
That’s exactly right Nancypants. Marriage is a business transaction. You can have a big party and a priest and don’t have to buy the marriage license. I’m in the legal field, it’s a business. Marriages and divorces put money in pockets
I understood your sentiment. My own wedding cost an embarrassing amount of money and now that it’s over, I think it was a waste. I didn’t even want it that way, but my mother in law and my mother went nutty.
In between the lines I am guessing some other things may at play, as some above said, that we are not privy to.
Are people really so divorce story hungry? I mean divorce happens and its not like they were a famous couple. There isnt even a cheating nanny fgs.
? She is famous. What are you talking about?
He isnt, therefore not a celebrity couple. Also very unfair of her to thrust an ex who isnt in public life (and therefore little access to these kind of magazine deals) into the spotlight like this.
Yeah what has drew ever done? What’s her last name? Who is she again?
😄
Hilarious.
I know you were just trying to be nasty but seriously what has she done? Besides some awful simpering romcoms and even worse, CAs?
Once again, 1) he isnt a public figure. 2) there wasnt much interest in them even when they were together and 3) sending her publicist to manouver for two magazine covers with “insider quotes” cant possibly be fair on him.
Maybe it’s your age Naya? Maybe you are a bit younger than your late 30s? She’s part of one of the most storied familes in Hollywood.She was in one of the biggest movies of all time(ET) and have a very public breakdown and comeback before her 18th birthday. I’m right around her age and while she hasn’t been in anything good in years she’s one of those celebrities I’ll always care about.
Naya – I get what you are saying, but need to disagree.
Drew Barrymore garners interest overall because of her family name in Hollywood. But more than that, many have always felt a sort of paternal or sibling feeling towards her because from the start, she endeared herself to many of us in E.T. and then we saw her grow up/grew up with her.
She has a charming personality and way about her that is endearing even in those cheesy rom-coms you mention.
And along with her partner, Nancy Juvonen, she was one of the first females in Hollywood to have on-going success producing movies.
Couple all of this with Koppleman who is rich and pedigreed and you will have strong interest in the gossip world to read about their spilt.
EDIT – Luca – I saw your post after mine, but yes, I agree!
@Luca76
Read my post again. I didnt say she wasnt famous, I implied that she hasnt done anything to earn it. She is a Barrymore who squandered her position by making really bad movies for many years.
Also, nobody is responding to the main thrust of my argument. He is not a public figure, they are not a celebrity couple, there is little public interest in them together and positioning her divorce like this is intended to sitr up interest rather than satisfy any existing curiousity. Shes basically decided that her divorce is the most interesting thing about her and is attempting to reintroduce herself to the world at her ex expense..
Naya – I feel like I and others did try to answer your argument. You are assuming that there is little public interest in her and we are trying to point out that many people are in fact interested in her because she is a well-known celebrity that many people feel an affection towards.
I also feel like I tried to provide an answer to your question about him, which is that there is always gossip interest in the rich and pedigreed.
It is ok if you are not interested in them, and I get it, it is not like they are/were some super interesting couple. I don’t even disagree that there is plenty of PR going on here for her career. But I don’t think it is at his expense or that it is being forced down the throat of an uninterested public. There are plenty of people interested in Drew Barrymore.
@ Naya…she’s a celebrity so regardless of who she married, it was going to get publicity. Her marriage received press, now her divorce. And please…her soon to be ex knew he was marrying someone famous & knew that there was a possibility he’d be featured in press articles. It’s your opinion that she squandered her position…she’s also launched a film company & her flower company…so I don’t think she squandered anything. Do you just not like Drew?
@Mia Girl and Tammy
Ok, I get your point.
Do i hate her? Honestly, she is like Goldie Hawns daughter to me – I’ll let the movie run while I do my chores, I’ll be aware of her but cant find the energy to either like or hate her. So naturally I cant imagine that her life commands such broad interest that both US and People would devote issues to her life unless her publicist went in wheeling and dealing. But hey, maybe I am mistaken and the masses are genuinely keen to hear about this divorce. I still dont think its fair on him though. Marrying a public figure shouldnt mean that she gets to send her “insiders” to plaster your divorce all over the major magazines.
I actually wasnt trying to be nasty. I’m silly and sarcastic and sometimes snarky, but I never set out to be nasty. There are plenty of nasty folks in the world to do that for me.
Making light of they “they aren’t famous” line. Even if rom coms are lame, she is still a very notable and household name. Like joshing with friends. No need to be defensive.
Naya. The Barrymore name is a institution in HW. If Drew did nothing with her life, she will still be famous.
ITA. I mean, for ET alone…
Will Kopelman was also an actor at one point too, so I think the “Poor Will in the public eye” angle really doesn’t pull my heart strings too much. He wasn’t too cut up about it whilst they were posing on red carpets, etc.
She lives a quiet life, compared to say the Kardashian Clan, but she is still very much of interest to people who have followed her before Charlie’s Angels. You might not see her on the trashy weeklies all the time, but a lot of people still care.
I see your point and agree with you…yes, she garners interest, is she so relevant to current events that we need exclusive covers and inside musings on her divorce? Eh, probably not, I could have read that they were divorced and not cared for a single additional detail (because…no nanny).
It feels like she is using it to get back on the radar and that does feel unfair to that boring dude that is now collateral damage.
i think it is a slow news week and maybe that’s what she was waiting for
I like Drew a lot, but I don’t think she has ANY idea what makes a marriage work. After 20 years I’ve learned that everyone has to do things the way that work for their families – but the common denominator of all healthy relationships is prioritizing the people you’ve committed your life to first. Some of my greatest fails as a wife and mother have come when I don’t consider them as important as me. No matter how successful one becomes, at the end of the day we all want to feel like we matter to the people closest to us. Otherwise, what’s the point?
I see how she Drew very much wants that for herself, but struggles to see her responsibility to GIVE that as well.
Problems will arise, and in her case it sounds like the personality differences got to her. If they are truly friends, then it sounds like this marriage might be salvageable, if both would commit to striking a balance.
Some love the idea of marriage and family, but the idea often doesn’t match daily reality.
but the common denominator of all healthy relationships is prioritizing the people you’ve committed your life to first.”
but thats not true and that is the opposite of healthy. you need to have other interests and other people in your life and your partner cant be your number 1 priority, it will always have to be yourself and your dreams, you are still an individual. same for kids, raising a kid takes a long time but its only a short part of your life. for most people work is number 1, it has for men and most modern women also prioritize work over their families, thats the new normal.
your happiness and your health and your financial independence must always come before everything else as a woman. we had generations to learn from the mistakes of other women who did not make themselves the #1 in their lives or could not due to patriarchy. thats why we teach young girls to make their careers their priority.
Well, I think it’s finding that tricky balance. But, in my experience, kids who’ve grown up without good role models for healthy relationships have a lot of baggage and a *very* hard time figuring out how to make a relationship work.
@Esther, I completely agree.
I was little taken aback to read that we have to basically prioritise everybody above ourselves to make things work…No, that sounds to me like having to change who you are completely to fit into another person’s ideal.
Everyone has to give and take a little, but they need to remain themselves too.
You have a troubled marriage very early on after the wedding and you are pregnant. It never got better. Yet, you go ahead and have another child. I never get that, but I guess it happens if you are in the baby-yearning mindset and Drew’s age was a factor.
I could not give up my babies at the tender ages of one and three, the ages of her children, 50 percent of the time. It would break my heart and I just wouldn’t be happy. I wonder if Will is getting 50/50.
That is what puzzles me. Not that we’re getting all sides of the story, but nothing revealed thus far sounds like a solid reason to give up half your very young children’s lives.
I do wonder if she will maintain a NY residence, or if she’ll go to CA and make this a cross-country custody situation for these two toddlers.
I’m with you Christin. My kids are similar ages and while I periodically (okay often!) want to punch their father/my husband, I recognize that boredom and domestic irritations are not strong enough reasons to miss seeing my kids on a daily basis. I have to hand it to her/her team, this isn’t getting the judgement/criticism I’ve seen in other high profile divorces, even without children involved (Blake and Miranda, for example).
That’s the really sad part – no matter how close they remain, it’s never the same. The kids probably are too young and will always remember their parents as split up, but it has to be hard for the parents. I do hope for the best for their family though.
Yeah, this puzzles me as well. I know we’re in the era of “we don’t need men or marriage, we can have babies without a husband” and all of that. But I just don’t understand why someone would go on to have another baby if she knew there were problems right after the wedding. Why do you want to purposely bring children into broken homes and custody issues. It just seems so selfish to me. I get that she wanted children, but it just seems selfish.
Well some just want to have the amount of kids they want with one person only.
I know a few who were planning on separating but wanted three kids and thought it’d be better to have them all have the same parent.
Not everyone wants kids with different men/women like Kate Winslet…
I have seen a lot of women when things aren’t going great, but they insist that they can’t have an only child due to stigmas(my father and I are only children and believe me I hear all kinds of things and I am 35 years old!) so they usually have another kid all while planning their exit plan. I also have had some friends tell me that they never married for love but rather to have kids, then once they can’t take it anymore, they leave and get some good child support.
On the whole, it seems that Barrymore either gets herself into the wrong relationships which make them difficult to sustain, or, she just can’t sustain any relationship for a prolong period of time.
This, “they are too different” sounds pretty familiar to they “they are too different” PR that was released when she broke her 5 year relationship to Fabrizio Moretti. In that role, she was the more stable “wiser” one.
http://www.celebitchy.com/2606/drew_barrymore_broke_up_with_fabrizio_moretti/
With Justin Long it was said she “ran hot and cold”. Seems that becomes fickle about any romantic relationship after a time. I don’t know if it is because she has an unrealistic view of what it takes to make a relationship work, whether she looses interest after the “honeymoon” phase is over, or she keeps searching for something to extremes and thus picks the “wrong guy”.
It ended with Fabrizio because he didn’t want to marry her. He has said in the past that he doesn’t believe in marriage and that he doesn’t want children, he is still single and messing around to this day.
And didn’t Justin break up with her and then date Kirsten Dunst? She also dated Fabrizio after Drew.
She just likes these type of guys who don’t want ‘forever’. It ended between Justin and what’s her face Amanda Seysomething because he didn’t want to marry her either.
No, pretty sure Drew broke up with Justin and Amanda was cheating on him.
Did Fabrizio date Kirsten Dunst? I know he was with Kristen Wiig a good while.
what should they share is Jenn´s stylist, God, Drew is looking awful, the hair, everything¡¡
Getting divorced is apparently the newest way to revive a stagnant acting career and public interest.
that people cover is really unflattering. i guess maybe people is team will.
I know this is going to sound blunt and a bit cold, but she got engaged to him and married because she got knocked up. She was already several months pregnant when they got engaged. She didn’t tread carefully into this marriage with all due consideration, so I don’t know why it’s so surprising that it didn’t last.
I do wish Patty Duke had the full cover. What a life! Childhood abuse and trauma–as well as early stardom and acclaim. Crazy romantic life–for years it wasn’t known if Desi Arnaz Jr, John Astin or Michael Bell (?) was Sean Astin’s father. Turned out the last one was but he considers all 3 men, plus his longterm stepfather, fathers and has a relationship with them all (John Astin has passed). Wild lifestyle. Finally diagnosed with bipolar–gets healthy (off alcohol and drugs and treated for her illness). Reboots her career with some Emmy-winning work. Finds stability and happiness in a 30 years marriage to a former drill sergeant-turned-firefighter living far from Hollywood. Leaves acting mostly behind (though she worked in the local theater where she lived and mentored high school actors) but becomes an advocate for mental illness. Her life ran the full gamut and she was taken far too early. In the ‘old days’ of People magazine, her death wouldn’t be just a corner of the cover but they started the downslide (IMO) when they relegated Jimmy Stewart’s death to a sidebar to cover Ivana Trump.
john astin is alive!
ITA that patty duke should have the whole cover
Sean Astin’s mother is PATTY DUKE!?
#gobsmacked
I feel very sympathetic for everyone involved. The chapter where she talks about meeting her husband seemed very genuine and I think they did love each other but sometimes opposites just don’t work. I’m looking forward to her getting back out there and making movies again. I’d love if she wrote another book too