I never had strong feelings one way or the other about this couple, but I guess it’s sad to see two young people throw in the towel. Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams are over. They were married in March 2009, meaning they were just about to hit their six-year anniversary. Here’s something shocking: he’s 40 YEARS OLD!! She’s only 30. They don’t have any kids and everything seems amicable enough, I guess.
It’s over for Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams. Nearly six years after the duo tied the knot, Adams, 40, filed for divorce from Moore, 30, PEOPLE confirms.
“Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams have mutually decided to end their marriage,” her rep says in a statement. “It is a respectful, amicable parting of ways and both Mandy and Ryan are asking for media to respect their privacy at this time.”
The duo pulled off an under-the-radar wedding in March 2009 in Savannah, Georgia, just four weeks after announcing their engagement. On Friday night, after news of the split broke, Adams appeared in a pretaped segment of The Late Late Show, where he performed his moody ballad “Gimme Something Good.”
Last March, the couple presented a united – and goofy – front as they celebrated their fifth anniversary with pals including Minka Kelly.
“Celebrating love w the greatest friends and family last night. Feeling incredibly grateful today,” Moore wrote on her Instagram page, captioning a shot that featured the men in ’50s attire and the women donning funny hats.
The week prior, Moore shared a photo of their marriage certificate. “The best five years….” she wrote. The couple, who collaborated on his self-titled album last year, have always been private about their relationship.
Explaining why he cut an interview short last fall after being asked about Moore, Adam explained: “I’m a private person and I’ll be a gentleman and say I’m not talking about my marriage ever. I’ll never talk about it. Ever.”
For what it’s worth, I’m not getting any weird feelings about this split. Maybe he’s secretly a big jerk or maybe she’s secretly a crazy diva, but my vibe is that these are just two people that grew apart. They always seemed like a strange match-up anyway, so maybe their lack of common interests ended up being bigger than they expected. Mandy was in the Red Band Society on Fox last year, but that show just got canceled. Maybe her career really isn’t going that well and it affected her marriage?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
You’ll be fine Mandy because you are amazing! Get back into rom coms 🙂
Always liked her.
Just tell me she’s not the singer in the gossip on McDreamy’s divorce.
Ok kidding.
I hope she starts doing more films. She was pretty good in the romantic comedies she’s done.
I really don’t know why her career never took off. She is talented, she comes across as likeable and genuine. Anyway, I hope they find happiness.
What is she doing now have not heard her name in years, I think in terms of her career I think she needed to have a stronger team the timing was always off and she always seemed to disappear in the background or comprared to a poor mans version of…… whoever the case may be.
Not sure how well it pays, but she voices the main character on my 3-year-old’s favorite Disney Jr. cartoon.
She voiced Rapunzel in Tangled, didn’t she? Too lazy to google it.
My two little girls (and me) are obsessed with Tangled. 🙂 I think it’s way under-rated compared to Frozen (AND it has Flynn Rider). And I think Mandy Moore did an amazing job voicing Rapunzel. She put so much warmth and personality into the character. She can probably live on the residuals for her voicing that character alone, but she should get back into acting more–she’s always struck me as a genuinely sweet person.
Amyr- yes! Love Sheriff Callie and Tangled. Tangled is the mainobsession for my 2 & 4 year-olds. Me, too. Love Mandy…and love Flynn :). I hope she is doing well. She always struck me as a kind person, and talented and pretty without being full of herself.
Is she? I’m npt familiar with her singing, but her acting in the few films I’ve seen was appaling.
She actually has a decent voice, she came out at the height of pop princesses Britney, Xtina, Jessica simpson and she just couldn’t stand out. Now her acting was also so so, she did the rom com thing for a while but also was not able to stand out amongst the J. Anistons, Kate Hudsons etc
I don’t think she’s untalented, but she always seemed like a jack of all trades, master of none. The ones who seemed to become bigger stars seem to stick with one thing and become huge in that first before trying to branch out into everything else. She is more likable than someone like Jessica Simpson, so maybe a reality show might have helped her (although, as with Jessica, I think that would have probably put the stops on everything else).
Anyway, I guess she’s not shallow since I think she’s way better looking than her husband. I was surprised when I saw what her husband looked like.
She came out in that late 90s/early 00s pop rush. There was already a Britney, a Christina, and a Jessica. She was a little younger IIRC, and her songs sounded like their leftovers–just not as good or as catchy. I always liked her, though. She never struck me as someone with a massive ego (the way Christina did) and she never played dumb for attention (ahem, Jessica).
When she came out amidst the pop music boom of the late 90s-early 2000s, Mandy and Jessica were both considered 2nd tier to Britney and Christina (whomever is trying to put Jessica in with Spears and Aguilera is clearly a huge J Simp fan). Mandy moved into acting pretty quickly and worked a lot but nothing really caught on for her. She seems like she’s at a crossroads professionaly, though Mandy doesn’t seem nearly enough interested in stardom itself to go for a reality TV gig. That’s probably hard on a marriage.
I loved Tangled! I thought it was a lot better than Frozen.
Isa: I totally agree.
I agree she is likable but there is a certain blandness to her personality. I think it comes across on screen. Maybe she should take on a darker role or something that would change how she is portrayed. I do like her though.
Yes, true.
I agree. She should play against type and go for grittier , dark roles.
She is not a bad actress at all.
Shame. I always liked her.
Maybe they just grew apart. Or maybe we will get a crazy amount of “sources” spilling all the dirt. We will see.
I hope she gets back to TV. I loved her stint on Grey’s anatomy a few years ago. Hope she gets another hit, maybe in a completely different role than her “goody-two-shoes” usual character.
There was a blind some time ago ( can’t remember, where i read it, but i think it was Lainey’s page) about ( what was understood by the most readers) Taylor Swift and Adams. I wonder, if there was some true to it.
That was the very first thing I thought of when. I saw the headline! Can’t wait for Lainey’s take on it
Tanguerita, I came here to see if anyone else remembers this blind item — it was a number of months ago and all of the guesses were Mandy, Ryan and Taylor was the third party. Must have been at least some truth to it in that Mandy and Ryan were certainly headed for a split.
I’m sure there was a third party somewhere. What couple breaks up less than a year after they have a big happy anniversary celebration? Unless you are lying about being happy, which is just dumb. You would at least spend some real time to try to work it out.
I’m always surprised when I see peoples super loved up fb posts and then they abruptly split. Overcompensating, maybe?
It happens a lot, sometimes the show is the only thing holding a couple together.
Bob Loblaw, this exactly.
Mandy seemed to have a positive influence on Ryan. He is sober and not nearly as strung out as he was in the early 00’s. As a huge fan of RA, I really don’t want him to spiral out of control. This news does give me a sad.
It’s a little sad. I love Mandy and also love Ryan’s music. There was a Lainey Blind a few months ago, everyone thought it was this two – the husband had been cheating with a more successful musician/actress. Some were guessing Taylor Swift but I think Jenny Lewis was a better fit.
He might have something with Jenny Lewis but I think the Blind that I saw said that the other woman was a much more successful star and Jenny Lewis is not more successful than Mandy but Taylor is. I really think it’s Taylor. :/
Jenny Lewis is a much more successful star than Mandy Moore.
rumour is he has been cheating with Jenny Lewis for awhile now.
It makes a lot of sense if it were Jenny Lewis. Ryan is about to embark on a world tour and she is the opener…I cannot wait for the show in my area.
I think it’s a shame when people divorce around year five, simply because I think even good marriages hit low points, and that’s sort of a transition time. Of course, everybody is different, but at around five years, the honeymoon phase where everything the other person does is adorable has dimmed a little, and you start to see their flaws more realistically. You start to realize that forever is forever. And he’s doing the same, so maybe you don’t feel quite as adored. If you can get through it, and the marriage is a good one, without a major, unfixable flaw, you transition into a deeper love, where you see the person’s flaws more realistically, but you love them anyway. And if they do they same, you feel truly loved in a way you never have been before. Not every marriage can work, but if you have a good one and it gets a little difficult around five years, don’t panic. It might actually strengthen it in the long run.
100%
This is so interesting and lovely, thank you. In my case years 5 to 10 were marked by so much turmoil (financial and health) that I hadn’t been clear-headed enough to see that transition from adoration to appreciation as growth, just felt like treading water. I appreciate the insight.
We had a tough year five and six. Just a lot of arguing about the same things over and over. It was painful, but we stuck in there and tried to get to the root of the argument, and things are great now. It was essentially a power struggle, and we both became so entrenched in our corners that we couldn’t compromise. Eventually, I think it scared us both, and we saw that we needed to each make some very small compromises and to appreciate what the other’s efforts. We were lucky to have this happen at a relatively calm period of our life – it must have been so difficult for you to experience this it during an already tumultuous time. I hope things are better for you all the way around now.
What a beautiful comment GNAT. I always admire people who have been married 5+ years. Everything feels so easily and quickly disposed of, it’s nice to see a couple work things out.
I did not click on this article expecting to read something so lovely and deeply thoughtful, so thank you GNAT for your comment; it’s really beautiful and true.
So very true, GNAT. Marriages have their ups and downs and working through them is tough but so worth it. I also think while not all marriages can ( or should) be saved, many break up just after that honeymoon period wears off. Too bad for these two, I like them both.
I’m actually going through that right now with my husband. We’ll be seven years in August. I love him dearly, and he’s wonderful to me BUT he’s hidden some very substantial things from me and was also arrested for stealing a large sum of money from his employer so I’ve been grappling with leaving because of that, or staying because all other aspects are okay right now. It’s very, very hard.
I’m so sorry, Claire. I hope you can figure out what will make you happy in the long run. In our case, nobody “did” anything, so it was easier to stick with it. Best to you.
@Claire: I really feel for you. Breaking up a marriage is (for most people) an extremely difficult decision. I went through a similar situation with my ex-husband. I found out 6 months after we got married that he had been lying about his finances our entire relationship. It eventually became clear that he was unable to be honest about how much he was spending and making, which eventually led to him no longer being ‘allowed’ to have his own bank account. It got to the point where he would just sign his paycheck over to me and I would give him an allowance. I stayed for years tho, because other than that, our relationship was great–we got along really well, enjoyed each other’s company and hobbies, very rarely fought, had an amazing group of friends. But, after years of resentment–me resenting that I had to ‘take care of him’ and his resenting that I keep him on a budget became really stressful. When we had a baby it became abundantly clear to me that my ex would never be able to handle the financial responsibility necessary to take care of another person. He was in his 30s and literally couldn’t even pay his own phone bill. Coincidentally, we were married almost 6 years. People can be nice people and good to you, but if you can’t trust them, then the very foundation of the relationship is completely broken.
Oh thanks all, what kind responses! Scarlet, that sounds SO much like we’re going through. A huge part of why I’ve stuck it out is because he couldn’t afford to live on his own and I’d feel terrible essentially throwing him out on the street. But you’re right, it’s becoming a huge burdon on me. Day to day is okay, but I can’t even think about the future. I’m getting closer to taking that step, as terrifying as being alone all of a sudden is! I know I’ll be happier in the long run. <3 I want more than anything for it to work out because he's been my best friend for nine years, but his newfound criminal record isn't something that either of us can make go away and considering my Dad is a prosecutor…ick. It's just not something I think I can ever move beyond.
My grandmother told me in her marriage there were good years and bad years, they’d have 5 good years then 2 or 3 bad years, but they stuck it out and she said it was well worth it in the end. I’ve never been married but I hope I can remember that advice and stick it out in those bad years.
Exactly. There was a survey of really long-married people, like 40, 50 years together. I remember the very interesting finding that most of them said they had long periods (years-long, like 3-5 years) of discontent, unhappiness, etc. Sometimes more than one period like this. These were couples who were brought up in the 40s and 50s, so not apt to divorce, otherwise many of them no doubt would have divorced during these periods. Take away is a really long marriage should expect surprisingly long ‘bad’ periods. And that they will pass to better times eventually.
I think it’s like a long-time friendship – sometimes you and your friend are on the same page, sometimes not. It’s just intensified because you live together and have so much emotion invested. And just to clarify, I’m not saying anyone should stay when there’s cheating or abuse or anything like that – only you can make that decision. I’m just talking about a bad patch where you’re fighting a lot and on each other’s last nerve for an extended amount of time, but you still love each other.
I just wanted to say thank you to all of you commenting here. While my husband and I haven’t had any truly low points or reasons (adultery, lying, abuse) to break up, we just passed our six year anniversary and things definitely aren’t as easy as they were on year two or three. We’re learning that we need to try a little bit harder. Our major stressor is our two young kids, so we’ve decided to stick with just two, and refocus more on us, instead of having them be the center of everything and us just catering to their every need.
I’ve been married for 11.5 years. Years 6-7 were very bad.
Now we have a 2.5 year old son with developmental delays. You’d think between being childless for 9 years then having a baby or having a child with delays would be great stresses on our marriage, but it’s not. We figured out a lot doing our rough period. We are more appreciate of the good times because we know they don’t last forever, we are better at dealing with each other, and are better able to see the long game and that the things going on now are just one season in our lives.
@Courtney l really like what you say about figuring things out during bad times that lead back to the good. I had a bumpy start in that two year into my marriage I got cancer, which causes at least half of couples to break up. It was hard, because tbh we only knew each other a year before we got married so we were very much still in the early stages. So it was a lot of pressure and stress early on, which occasionally my husband will say something about now but at the time he never let on how hard it was for him too.
Anyway I know not every marriage can be saved but it’s nice to hear you came through it and I wish you all the best with your son.
She was so great in Saved.
Yes! Loved her in that role.
I yet was surprised they were together
That’s sad, they were low key but seemed happy together. I’ve always liked her, I hope her career improves.
Wonder if it has anything to do with the rumors that he and Taylor Swift hooked up while he was still married to Mandy. They were pretty blatant about their love for each other on IG before and rumor has it Taylor made sure they appeared together on Jimmy Fallon. I’d feel really bad for Mandy Moore if it were true, Mandy went to my hometown and was a total sweetheart throughout, never made a fuss or brought an entourage or anything like that, just very down-to-earth.
has she done something to her eyes? like Rene Zellager? her eyes are totally diffferent in the first pic.
She looks really different to me too, but I can’t put a finger on what it is. If it’s just a decade of aging kind of change, or something surgical. Because age will change your face a bit. And if it was surgical, it wasn’t much. But something about her made me not really recognize her right away! Nobody in the comments said anything so I thought it was just me!
According to Lainey he cheated on her with Taylor Swift. It’s not Jenny Lewis because she’s not “trying to change her image”. Also, he obviously has something for young women.
Taylor Swift is not going to cheat with a married guy. I’m not naive, but that girl is not going to do it. I give that zero credibility.
At least not publicly I guess! 😉
Maybe Jenny Lewis is “changing” her image from Rilo Kiley (band) to truer solo. She’s done solo albums but maybe this one won’t be as twangy as her past.
I really like her, wish she’d still have a bigger career. She’s just adorable on screen. This split does sound drama free but it’s always a bummer to see a marriage come to and end.
She always seemed like a cool, down to earth chick. But I haven’t heard her name in ages. I suppose that can be both a good and bad thing. This couple obviously doesn’t have to endure endless pap walks but I think a little good publicity for a career’s sake is a positive thing. It’s a shame that the first thing I’ve heard about Mandy in a while is her divorce. I hope she gets some more work in the near future after the cancellation of the Red Band Society (which I heard of but didn’t watch). She’s a talented lady. I’m sorry but I really don’t know anything about her hubby.
I loved Red Band Society. It was a good show. It had a few spots in it like most shows in their first season, that wasn’t great. But they were working through it. Show went to hiatus not too long ago and then got cancelled. Remaining episodes will be burned during superbowl i think. Much like Fox did to Arrested Development.
The cast reminded me of Freaks and Geeks where the cast is age appropriate and not a bunch of late 20’s early 30’s pretending to be mid teens.
Mandy’s character could have vanished and the show wouldn’t notice.
Still, i like her and think they just grew apart.
He is super talented. I love Mandy. But I knew this marriage was never going to last. She gave an interview around the time they got married, and I can’t remember exactly what was said, nothing awful, but he seems complicated as far as marriage. It just sounded like a relationship doomed as far as lasting forever.
For those asking what she’s done since her pop princess days, she evolved and she makes indie music.
I bought her 2007album, Wild Hope. I don’t know what she’s done recently.
This is the style she sings now. A song from Wild Hope called Gardenia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTM2ZRYEKuc
He is really an incredible songwriter. But he also seems like he wouldn’t be the easiest guy to live with. Combine that with pressure from her career maybe not going so great, and rumors about him not necessarily being the most faithful (and as much as we’re supposed to take blind items with a grain of salt, is a musician with some side action really that much of a stretch?) and I don’t think their split is a shock.
And is it just me, or does Mandy have a slightly vulnerable air to her? Her public relationships have all been with difficult guys (Valderrama, Roddick, Adams) and she comes across as so sweet
I don’t get what happened to her film career — she is actually a decent actress, especially in comedy.
I don’t think he’s cheating with Jenny. I’m a pretty big fan of her music and she’s been in a relationship for a really long time with Johnathan Rice. They scored Anne Hathaway’s new movie, Song One, together and have been doing a lot of work to promote the movie. Hard to imagine they’d be so chummy if she’d really been the reason Ryan Adams’ marriage imploded. I didn’t know anything about the Taylor Swift blind item, but I think it’s more likely that Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams just grew apart.
Taylor Swift and this dude sound like such an odd pairing to me. I’m already having difficulty wrapping my head around Mandy Moore and him as a married couple.
I also think Taylor is so focused on her career and how her long-time fans perceive her (because of their impact on record sales), I can’t imagine her doing anything to jeopardize losing their loyalty (I guess we’ll find out the truth when she writes a song about a married guy???).
Mandy has lost weight. Her face is much slimmer.
I’ve linked for anyone who has never seen her cover of Rihanna’s Umbrella, which she did on Yahoo covers series. Great live performance and rendition, a slower version, which actually worked. I loved how she used Rihanna’s video in the background. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMB6YOWzQMY
There was a blind item reveal on cdan that he was cheating with his indie movie star ex for a very long time. I believe that means Parker posey.
Love Mandy Moore. Didn’t realize she was married. I watch UFC fights with my husband and, in the past, I’ve seen Mandy Moore in the crowd/audience of several big ticket fights, especially for BJ Penn. I just thought she was dating a UFC fighter. Maybe her husband was there too, but I never noticed. There was also a rumor about her being involved with UFC fighter George St. Pierre. This was all in the past 2-3 years. I love her so I’m not speculating. Maybe she just enjoys the UFC and wasn’t involved with anyone there.
I thought it was odd they mentioned in the release that she waited until he was in NYC to file the papers. It is was a mutual decision so why wait. Probably just me and my cynical gossipy mind.
On another site I visit, the other woman guesses were Parker Posey & Jenny Lewis. No one believed Taylor would go there and risk her reputation.
Not unpredictable, husband leaves for a younger woman.
Hope to see more of her. Loved her in Saved!
I definitely have 2 cents about this. I worked on a movie with her ages ago- in 2001, maybe? She was very down-to-earth and warm. Obviously not stupid. Very professional. As for Ryan Adams, my husband used to live with him and a bunch of other guys back in the day. He’s complicated and not a “nice guy.” Not at all. He burned many bridges before hitting it big on the indie scene. Interesting pair, indeed. I think she’s more layered than the public will ever know and will likely be better off with a more generous-spirited partner in the future.
I thought Ryan Adams was pretty well known as an ass. I should also add, I think he’s an incredible songwriter, but still not an ass. And while Mandy herself seems so lovely, her previous boyfriends in the public eye aren’t. She seems to like douchey guys.
A lot of us like douchey guys when we are younger and then grow out of it. Maybe this is her growing out of it.
Wow, LadyA. So rarely do we get personal insight, your story is telling.
I really am a fan of his music, I’m actually going to see him play next month, but my sympathy here feels leaning towards Mandy. It’s no secret he’s a typical complicated brooding musician, he seems pretty immature for his age tbh. He’s been touring non-stop for like a year now, that can’t be easy on a marriage. The Taylor Swift thing kind of horrifies me if it’s true. I’d like to think he wouldn’t go there, because seriously dude, but he is guy, a middle aged one at that. To the person who guessed Parker Posey, he already dated her a few yrs. ago, he dated like every Hollywood It girl. I don’t buy that this was a natural split, they seemed very much united until a few months ago , they led a low key life and seemed happy. So I do think that something cracked, I just hope he doesn’t go of the rails now. I do find their split sad, anytime a couple seems to have real happiness and lose it so quickly it saddens me.
Okay, so clearly no one on this thread is built like me and my homegirl MM. I took one look at the photo of 5’10” Mandy Moore with that little shrimp and knew what broke them up. Posturing little rocker guys will date (and even marry!) a tall woman but they will remind you every. damn. day that you’re “big” or “a giant” or bitch that they have to get on a step stool to kiss you if you wear heels. That guy built a rep on being a huge pain in the ass and I’d bet you most anything he hassled her to death about her stature. Also, she was farking brilliant in ‘Saved.’