Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were the top celebrity power couple for the five years they were dating. The two co-starred in popular 1990s movies like “Reality Bites” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Early in the 1990s, the couple seemed to have it all: a fulfilling work, children, and a devoted marriage. However, things came to an end in 2003 when Ryan Shawhuges, the babysitter for Thurman, was accused of having an illicit affair with Hawke.
Even though the “Before Sunrise” star denied the accusations, Hawke made a public display of dating Shawhughes after the divorce was granted in 2005.
In an interview with GQ, the actor talked about that period of his life and how much it still affected him years later. He admitted his lack of readiness for marriage and the detrimental effects the divorce had on every facet of his life.
Hawke argued that it was improper for him to marry Thurman.
The two are said to have first connected in 1997 while working together on the “Gattaca” set. They got married the next year and had two children, Maya and Levon Hawke. Hawke, who was married at the age of 27, told Elle that he later regretted his decision to marry so early.
The 51-year-old actor said he got married because he thought marriage would “limit [his] chances. Success can be incredibly overpowering when you’re young. The setting appeared to be chaotic. I also wanted to stop its quick rotation. I thought getting married would somehow make my risks smaller. I was entirely wrong,” he said.
He claimed that at that age, he wasn’t responsible enough to make a permanent commitment and wasn’t mature enough to get married.
The male brain does not fully develop until age 28 according to research. I’m convinced that my frontal lobe is incomplete. I had no business making vows that would last more than two weeks, the “Sinister” actor admitted.
Hawke disregarded the marital advice given to him by other well-known persons.
He also talked about the advice he got from more seasoned performers and how it might have helped him avoid future mistakes that might have been worse. “I first met Debbie Reynolds at a dinner gathering around the time of Reality Bites.
According to Hawke, “she also provided me a ton of valuable advice on how to divide my public and performing lives and how she handled her divorce from Eddie Fisher and Liz Taylor.”
“What does this lady know at this moment is a question I can still remember asking myself. It’s funny because everything she told me that night was true. If I could have heard her, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble.”
After Hawke’s divorce, things started to go south.
In a recent GQ interview, Hawke discussed his divorce and the major impact it had on his life. After “Training Day” received an Oscar nomination, he thought his career was on the upswing. However, the divorce completely flipped his world upside down.
He told GQ that it was the pinnacle of his professional life. You might, for instance, be a commercial success. But following my divorce, everything in my personal life started to go wrong. He continued by saying that as a result of his mental state, he began to perceive everything in his life differently.
I’m not sure whether you experience this, but when you’re unhappy, it’s really easy to perceive everything that is untrue about other people and life, and I’ve recently begun to do that, he said. How phony everything is—even the phony stardom. Do you ever feel like Holden Caulfield, you know?
The actor acknowledged that his passion for acting and love for his children gave him the drive to do better. Kids are wonderful because they depend on you all the time. It brings harmony into your life.
The reasons behind Hawke and Thurman’s separation
There was a lot of talk about the couple’s breakup because they were one of Hollywood’s well-known couples. The breakup rumors claimed that Hawke had an affair with Thurman’s nanny. However, the actor refuted the claims and claimed that it was because of their different personal histories.
Uma and I didn’t break up because of anyone’s adultery. You would surely design these rules—”One person works, the other one doesn’t”—by yourself. Therefore, someone is always away,” he answered.
Then he said, “I’m taking care of my kids and living in a hotel room while you work on a movie set for six hours a day. See how you feel nine months after starting.”