After eighteen years together Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas are divorcing. According to TMZ , it was Griffith who decided to serve divorce papers to Antonio Banderas.
The legal documents between Griffith and Banderas state nothing out of the ordinary. According to the legal docs Griffith stated that the two are splitting due to “irreconcilable differences.”
In the papers Griffith is asking for both child support and sole physical custody as well as joint legal custody, though their child Stella turns 18 in September, so it kind of doesn’t matter since their daughter will be legal in a few months.
It’s unknown if the separation was sudden or if they’ve been separated for a long time as the court documents don’t list a date of separation. Inside sources told TMZ that the divorce is amicable. That said we aren’t too shocked that Banderas and Griffith are divorcing. The couple has had a long history of splitting up various times throughout their eighteen-year marriage.
The couple met on the 1995 film Two Much , have always been at the center of break up rumors for as long as they have been together.
Both had to deal with their own demons , for Griffith it was addiction and Banderas he had to endure cheating rumors. Back in 2012 Antonio opened up about infidelity in an interview with AARP:
“It’s a very, very personal issue how you deal with that. [You have to ask yourself ] if you are willing to damage what you have — your kids, your family, your friends. How do you deal in your sexual life with your wife? How rich can you make it in order to not have to look for something outside your marriage? What other things can you do, in your home? What are the things that you may tell her, or are you going to be always lying?”
A year before his 2012 interview with AARP, he told the magazine in 2011 that they had to be open and honest with each other about Griffith’s addiction problems. Back in 2010 Melanie checked in to rehab for the third time.
“The pretending is the worst, because kids are so smart. They can see through all of those things, and if you don’t talk openly about problems, it creates a very dark place. They carry that through the rest of their lives, to their marriages, to their kids.”
A day before the news broke of the divorce Griffith hit the red carpet alone for the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala, which saw her honoring Jane Fonda. She was spotted on the red carpet still wearing her wedding rings.
[Image via Bing]
