Idina Menzel says criticism over 'interracial aspect' of marriage to Taye Diggs impacted relationship
Idina Menzel is getting candid about her marriage to ex-husband Taye Diggs.
In an interview with Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the Dinner's on Me podcast, the host asked the Wicked star if the pressures of career successes impacted their romance, and Menzel explained how the reaction to the couple's marriage had a bigger effect on the relationship.
"The thing that came into play more, I would say — and he's talked about it too — is the interracial aspect of it," Menzel said. She went on to explain how she thinks the theater community can look past demographic differences: "When you're in the theater, it's just not a thing. We all love each other, sleep with each other and [are] best friends with whoever wants to be, whatever sexual orientation."
"But when you leave that cocoon, that bubble, and now, in his case he's [in] PEOPLE's 50 most beautiful people... He was on the cover of Essence, and Ebony, being interviewed by all these Black journalists. He had his own stuff to deal with that."
Jason Merritt/Getty Images Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs
"It seemed like there was disappointment in the community with him because he was married to a little white Jewish girl from some show that we don't even remember, and so I took that on too" she continued.
Diggs gained more fame for film and TV roles, so when Wicked catapulted Menzel to stardom, the actress said that her ex-husband was "relieved, probably, and happy, and proud of me...he was always so supportive, and probably relieved so he didn't have to feel like he was overshadowing [me] in some way or taking up too much space."
Menzel and Diggs met in the original production of Rent in the mid-1990s. They both appeared in the film version of Rent in 2005, as well as 2002's Just a Kiss. They married in 2003 and had a son together in 2009. The couple went their separate ways in 2013, and Menzel has been married to actor Aaron Lohr since 2017.
Menzel recently starred alongside her Uncut Gems costar Adam Sandler in You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah.
You can listen to the full episode of Dinner's on Me below.
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