Téa Leoni regularly goes fishing by herself in upstate NY ‘it’s a very Zen pastime’

TeaLeoni_ParadeMagazine
Téa Leoni’s new CBS show, Madam Secretary, premiered on CBS last night. Téa plays a newly minted Secretary of State. I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard a review on NPR that claimed it’s no Good Wife or West Wing because the writing is poor. Maybe I’ll watch the first episode though, my standards are low.

As part of promotion for the show, Téa did an interview with Parade magazine. At one point she talked about her 17 year marriage to actor David Duchovny. She didn’t dish details but she did praise Duchovny as the father of her children and added that she could never hate him. That’s faint praise, but it’s praise. David is also quoted saying nice things about his ex. Téa and David’s divorce was made final this summer. They previously split, reconciled and then split again. Their first breakup followed David’s inpatient rehab treatment for sex addiction in 2008. They have two children together: Madelaine West, 15, and Kyd Miller, 12. (Their son is really named Kyd.) Here’s more:

On her now-over marriage
As Leoni enters into a new TV marriage, her real-life one has recently ended; she and David Duchovny, who have two children—Madelaine West, 15, and Kyd Miller, 12—divorced this summer after 17 years together, punctuated by two separations. But their relationship is better than amicable, says the actress, whose ring finger still bears the wedding-band tattoo she got in 2007 to match Duchovny’s. “Listen, David gave me the two greatest gifts on the planet; I don’t know how I could ever hate him,” she says. “We’ve always loved each other, and we adore these kids. … I’m not playing stupid—I understand feelings can get hurt and things can get icky. We’ve had our moments like that. But these kids are too important, and he feels the same way, I know it. He’s a good guy.”

Duchovny, who has a place in New York but has been in L.A. working on a series about Charles Manson, had the kids for “most of the summer,” adds Leoni, who visited. “It’s fun to spend time as this unit that we still are, and it’s easy to communicate about them. There was that brief moment when the kids said, ‘Oh, I can work a scam on you here and him over there,’ and we were like, ‘News flash—no!’ ”

For his part, Duchovny says, “Téa and I had a long time together; we’ll always be connected and there for each other.” He knew Madam Secretary was something special for her when she “committed to it right away. She usually takes a long time to consider things from all angles.”

Leoni is also happy to be filming in New York, where she grew up. “L.A. is good for like four days, and then you’ve gotta get out,” she says. “I wanted my kids close to my parents and David’s mother. I wanted them to get to know their grandparents. I was very close to mine.”

She’d rather be fishing – really
Leoni is diplomatic about social media in our lives, though she prefers to keep her distance. “People seem to really enjoy it, but watching people scrolling through ­relationships with their thumb? It seems weird. I’d rather be fishing.”

She’s not kidding: An avid fly fisher, Leoni likes to get away for brief solitary trips in upstate New York to cast for trout using barbless hooks. “It’s a very Zen pastime,” she says. “My favorite meal is when I pull in something good-sized, skin it right there on the river, and bring it home and fry it. All but a few dinners go back.”

For now, she’s immersing herself in the world of politics as seen on TV. “Women are masters of diplomacy,” she says. “We’re probably at an unfair advantage, maybe because we know we can’t rely upon a good right hook. We may have one, but that’s not where we’ve been taught to go. I want to celebrate that there is a difference between the sexes; I want that bipartisanship to last forever.”

She leans in closer. “I do know this already: Secretary of state may be the most fascinating job in the world, and I would never want it in real life. I’d still rather be fishing.”

[From Parade Magazine]

That’s awesome that she loves to fish by herself. It sounds very relaxing. The article also notes that Téa has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2001. She’s made multiple overseas trips on behalf of the organization, and she’s been familiar with their work all her life. Téa’s grandmother was the president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for 25 years. I didn’t know that about her.

As far as her relationship with David, she’s probably dealt with so much crap from him over the years, (as did he from her) but she’s keeping it classy for the sake of their kids. These two remind me a little of Courteney Cox and David Arquette’s split, except they’re not spilling the beans as much. It’s nice to see a celebrity couple focused on their kids instead of nursing perceived wounds.

wenn2714730

wenn3112291

wenn21374836

Photos of T&eachute;a and David together are from 2010. Photos of T&eachute;a alone are from 2014. Credit: WENN.com

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

28 Responses to “Téa Leoni regularly goes fishing by herself in upstate NY ‘it’s a very Zen pastime’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. m says:

    I have yet to watch Madam Secretary but do Im quite excited for it, it looks good.
    There is something very captivating about her eyes, she kind of looks like a Kennedy. Funny considering her new role!

  2. doofus says:

    I love that she uses barb-less hooks.

    Makes it more of a challenge to actually hook and land your fish, but it also makes it much easier (and less painful) to remove the hook. Great if you’re doing catch-and-release.

    • bella says:

      i’m not a fisherman, but i’m glad to know that there are such hooks which are less painful for the fish.
      yet, i just can’t get used to the whole idea of fishing…seeing them flop around while suffocating…it’s difficult to watch, and i don’t anytime fishing shows are on TV.
      what’s the idea of the barbless hook if the suffocation is still going to cause pain?
      sorry…don’t mean to preach…truly would like to know.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Same. I will never understand how someone can kill a living thing for pleasure. It’s totally hypocritical, because I eat fish, but I don’t get it.

      • FLORC says:

        Also use barbless hooks. I hooked a sunny once. No one ever wants a sunny. He swallowed the hook and it could’t be saved. Since then that’s how it goes.
        I only fish when camping and need to. The rest comes in alive from my food market like lobsters.

        OT a bit, but on Netflix is a movie called Detention. So funny and touches upon a great Vegan/Vegetarian/Meat eaters debate. And Josh Hutcherson makes me feel like i’m robbing the cradle with my crush.

  3. IriP says:

    At first glance at the thumbnail I thought that was Kendra Wilkinson o_o and on the second too

  4. TheOriginalKitten says:

    I’ve always loved her, mainly because of her character in Spanglish.
    Nice to see a divorced celeb couple putting their kids first.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      I’ve always liked her, too, and I admire anyone who can put their children’s well being before their own grievances. I didn’t have children to worry about when I divorced, so I can just hope I would have been that unselfish. I’m sure it isn’t easy.

      • FLORC says:

        I must be wrong about this since I can’t find it, but wasn’t she on a comedy show where she was a pap or celeb reporter? I want to say the show had her name in it’s title…. Anyone?

        Edit: The Naked Truth was the show. I’ve liked her since then.

        David is the kind of man who isn’t attractive, but he is somehow. It’s odd. Never a californication or xfiles fan either.

    • buckley says:

      Love Spanglish! She was so impressive in it.
      Painful but impressive.

  5. littlemissnaughty says:

    I’m not sure why but ALL I can think about whenever she pops up somewhere is “Man alive, she was HOT in Bad Boys.” I don’t even know, let’s blame Michael Bay. Also, she’s a terrific actress.

  6. Jac says:

    I find her captivating.

  7. Dancinnancy says:

    I adore her. Classy lady and her hair is ALWAYS fabulous.

    Family Man is one of my favorite holiday movies – I loved her and Nic Cage in that one.

    • bella says:

      one of my all time faves, family man…i watch it over and over!
      and spanglish…another captivating movie.
      she is one of my favorite actresses, too, and she brilliantly portrayed madam secretary last night.
      yet the writing was a bit try-hard and put me off.
      it had its moments, but the attempts at being too cute just seemed forced.
      i don’t think it’s going to be successful if the writers continue with the cutesy-clever lines.
      it’s a serious subject – just be serious and save the cutesy stuff.
      i hope it does last though, because tea is so talented and deserves a hit show.

  8. Rhiley says:

    While I think the cast of Modern Family is very good, I have always felt that Tea Leoni could have played the role of Claire if Julie Whatever_Her_Last_Name_Is did not play the part. I bet Tea could play funny if she was offered the part. Family Man is such a good “I just ate so much ham and macaroni and cheese and I am so tired from getting up at 5:30 in the morning to open presents and I really should have not had that third glass of Pinot Noir- Oh yay, Family Man is on TV” movie.

  9. Pri says:

    Aw man, was hoping that “Madam Secretary” would be:
    “Good Wife” + “West Wing” + “Political Animals”

    Lots of potential, but I guess it is poorly executed.

  10. Barrett says:

    She ages well not too much messing with her face! She a David had some sex appeal as a couple. Sigh. Tumultuous love and hate.

  11. Jayna says:

    I love her and am glad to see her back. I will have to catch the show. I think she is very talented. I think once a year I catch the Christmas movie with Nic Cage and Tea. I also loved her in Splanglish.

    I remember seeing that photo of them at the beach together and thought they must be back together. I guess not, but, obviously, there is still a lot of love and respect there.

  12. holly hobby says:

    I love Family Man! Up until that movie, I found her to be a bit annoying but Family Man sealed the deal for me. I really thought she was very sweet in that movie.

  13. ashley says:

    Madam started off slow,but it got better. Hope it’ll have a long run,she portray the character flawlessly.

  14. RobN says:

    Have loved her since The Naked Truth. I’m sorry she and David didn’t make it; the whole whirlwind courtship thing was very romantic.

  15. MG says:

    She is beautiful and was so funny in the Naked Truth. I saw David Duchovny talk about their courtship on The Tonight Show before they were married and remember thinking how lucky he was. Can’t believe he screwed up so badly and admire Tea for moving past the hurt his actions must have caused.

  16. Becky1 says:

    Classy lady!

  17. Almond says:

    I like Tea but fishing has always seemed barbaric and cruel to me. I understand if you have to fish to eat but as a hobby? And a “Zen” hobby, at that? Not.

    I have a feeling that she and DD will get back together and live out their lives together when they’re both 70 and DD no longer chases the skirts. They seemed like the perfect couple for a while. She’s cute and the work on her face has been done very expertly. Nicole Kidman should take notes.

  18. Dotty says:

    So, flyfishing in NY makes you cool somehow? hmm. I fly fish and mountain climb, and I live in the mountains of Wyoming. Where’s my movie? (just kidding – live here to be away from people)