Sara Gilbert has filed to legally separate from her wife, mega music producer Linda Perry, after five years of marriage.
The Conners star, 44, filed legal paperwork in Los Angeles superior court two days after Christmas, listing the date of separation as August 13 and citing “irreconcilable differences.” Gilbert requested joint legal and physical custody of the couple’s 4-year-old son, Rhodes, TMZ reports. The actress, who spearheaded ABC’s The Conners reboot last year, requested that no spousal support be awarded to either Perry, 54, or herself.
The breakup news comes seven months after Gilbert announced she was leaving her moderator post on The Talk to focus on her family and other aspects of her career.
Gilbert and Perry tied the knot in March 2014, three years after they began dating. The couple welcomed son Rhodes Emilio Gilbert Perry in February 2015. Gilbert also shares children, Levi Hawk, 15, and Sawyer Jane, 12, with her ex Ali Adler.
The split comes as a surprise to fans, who saw Perry as a doting partner to Gilbert. The 4 Non Blondes alum was front and center on Gilbert’s last day on The Talk earlier this year, and she even helped her daughter Sawyer compose a surprise sendoff song for The Conners actress as she said goodbye to the CBS chatfest after nearly 10 years.
Sara Gilbert (@THEsaragilbert) is surprised with a very special musical performance by wife, Linda Perry (@RealLindaPerry) and daughter, Sawyer Gilbert Adler.
WATCH➡️: https://t.co/2UQd6ehVCl pic.twitter.com/SQ52XVYv2t
— The Talk (@TheTalkCBS) August 2, 2019
“She’s such a talented artist,” Perry told Us Weekly of her wife earlier this year. “She created her own way. … She’s got her own thing, and so she created it, so now she’s blossoming, she’s shining. …I couldn’t be more proud.”
Despite her decade-long stint on The Talk, Gilbert has always been notoriously private about her marriage and family life, while Perry has been more vocal.
While some longtime fans are stunned by Gilbert and Perry’s separation, there were rumors of marital distress earlier this year when Gilbert first announced she was leaving The Talk. At the time, a source told Radar Online that Perry reportedly gave Gilbert an ultimatum that she had to either walk away from the show or lose their family life.
“Sara’s marriage was strained because of the nonstop fights with her wife,” the Radar insider said in April. “Linda told Sara that she didn’t have enough time for her family, and she was right! Doing both shows was wearing her thin and having huge consequences on her marriage because she was never there.”
At the time, the source said Gilbert reportedly was ready for a new “chapter,” but now it appears that chapter involves closing the book on her marriage.
Gilbert’s separation from Perry comes exactly one year after her TV brother, Michael Fishman, separated from Jennifer Briner, his wife of 19 years.