Kate Bosworth & Michael Polish are splitting up after eight years of marriage

173109PCN_CriticsChoiceJFY053

I remember when Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish first got together. Kate had gotten out of her relationship with Alex Skarsgard, and I thought her thing with Polish was just a rebound or an ego-boost. But they stuck together and eventually married in 2013. Once they were married, Kate majorly went off the radar, sometimes from months or years at a time. She would pick up the odd acting job or modeling job – and hey, she started some strange kind of lifestyle site last year – but it was definitely weird to see how such a promising career just… went away. I always wondered if that was her choice or if Polish was pretty controlling. I have no evidence to back that up, it was just a vibe I got. In any case, Kate and Michael are separating and Kate posted this lengthy message on her IG:

“Do you want to split a burger?” Yes.

“How ‘bout a shot of whiskey?” Hell yes.

– Big Sur, 2011

The beginning is often the best part of love. Fireworks, magnets, rebellion — the attraction. The onset signals a wide open expanse of possibility. Split a burger with someone when you are falling in love, and you can die happily knowing this is your last meal. Buy a bottle of whiskey and share shots, pour me a waterfall. Play that perfect song on the jukebox and dance with someone you have known your whole life, though you met minutes ago.

Inherently we fear an ending. To lose what you have because you got what you wanted. To be attached to the expectation of the outcome. The great Unknown.

What if we chose not to fear but instead, to love. If that most delicate and vulnerable last flicker to the flame became another type of furnace entirely. Perhaps this will sound strange to some, romantic to others. To us: this is truth.

Our hearts are full, as we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as we do in this decision to separate. Together, over the last ten years, Michael and I have chosen love, every time. We hold hands as tightly today as we entangled fingers on our wedding day. Our eyes look more deeply into one another, with more courage now. In the process of letting go, we have come to acknowledge that our love will never end. The connection does not simply disappear. The love deepens, the heart expands.

We know the 4 am calls are coming. Songs will be exchanged to communicate only what songs can do. We laugh as we plan for our next movie together and are excited to share our latest collaboration. We believe the most epic love stories are those which transcend expectation. Our greatest honor has been to experience love like this, and to continue to marvel at the beauty of love’s evolution. What happens when we reach the end of something and realize … we are just at the beginning.

This is love.

And we will drink that down.
Kate + Michael

[From Kate’s IG]

Dang, if they really feel that way, why even split up? I mean, I get it – people outgrow each other, the person you were in 2011 is not the person you are in 2021. Maybe you need a fresh start in ten different ways and the marriage is only part of it. Thus ends a marriage I never understood and found somewhat dysfunctional, from the outside looking in. Kate is 38 years old – what will her life look like post-Michael Polish? I’m pretty curious.

bosworth polish

Michael Polish, Kate Bosworth at the Premiere of Warner Bros' Tomb Raider at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood

Photos courtesy of Kate’s Instagram and Avalon Red.

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

64 Responses to “Kate Bosworth & Michael Polish are splitting up after eight years of marriage”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Jais says:

    Okay it took me a few minutes but I really got her confused with Jamie King, thinking haven’t we heard about this spilt and it’s messy? But ok different people and different split.

    • Lexilla says:

      Ha, yes and another site says Polish is like “an art-house Property Brother.” Neither is distinctly memorable in my mind.

  2. Robin says:

    So many divorce and separation stories; covid really has been the lifting of the veil on partnerships.

    I wonder how affairs have been doing through the various lockdowns. Are they collapsing because spouses and partners are at home and they simply can’t get out to see their affairees, or are more starting and increasing online as people have been forced to spend lots of confined time together and realise they don’t actually get on?

    • AD says:

      I agree. It is the lifting of the veil for some for others Covide lockdown did a number on their personalities.

    • Natters says:

      Three of my friends are now going through a divorce. I feel eventually they would have divorced because each had a very specific agenda to why they wanted to get married and love wasn’t the top of the list. So Covid just speeded up the demise of weak marriages.

  3. Darla says:

    She’s so beautiful. I remember her with Askars and they were just a gorgeous couple. I don’t know this guy. I looked him up. I never know directors. I’m surprised she hasn’t been in any of his films that I can see.

    • Lara says:

      What? She’s been in five of his movies. He’s basically one of her main employers. He has family money so it doesn’t matter that all his movies are flops.

      • Darla says:

        Oh okay, I didn’t see any but I only looked quickly at wiki.

      • Chrissy (The Original) says:

        Lara, they’re not flops, they’re “art house films” so the less money they make, the more prestigious they are dontchaknow.

  4. girl_ninja says:

    I hope for healing for them both. After seeing a bunch of photos of Kate and Justin along together I thought “huh oh” something is happening between those two. I could be wrong but…

    • Bloody Hell says:

      I, too, saw those pictures that did not kate any sad mourning divorce ending. How do we know if Justin’s divorce is the cause? surprisingly quickly move on to a new man (it may be that there is nothing between them but still)

  5. Lee says:

    There were rumors about them as of late. I remember reading her husband got into a fight with an actor on a set movie and things apparently kinda froze between him and Kate since then. At least that’s what I read.

  6. The Hench says:

    Um. Well, maybe I’m an unreconstructed cynic but, to me, that whole Instagram spiel is just…weird. I can get with ‘conscious uncoupling’ even whilst I roll my eyes violently but this is a word salad I can’t even begin to make sense of. So basically I’m left going WTF?

    Just me?

    • Darla says:

      It’s wordy, but I think what she is saying is, we used to love to bone each other and now we don’t, but we still love each other so we are transitioning into life long friends.

      Which I’ve actually had happen but I didn’t write what Matt Damon might call a “beautiful treatise” and publish it. But that’s okay. I really think some actors have a deep vein of artistry in them and that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me

      • LillyfromLillooet says:

        Mutual breakups are so much better than when one side quits the other. Also, I think when you know you are ending your relash you can grieve and love cause you’re done trying to make it work.

        Also, I appreciate the lack of the standard “please respect our privacy at this time.”

      • Ann says:

        @Darla omg the Matt Damon “beautiful treatise” reference made me laugh out loud. Way to tie together multiple gossip stories this week!

    • Katherine says:

      Yes, me too. But maybe it’s just life experience of having a few heartbreaks that taught to take it easier and definitely not this deep, because otherwise it’s just too taxing and eats away a few months if not years of life

    • Astrid says:

      +1

    • Jules says:

      its so performative and show-offy. it’s their own business, why verbal vomit this to the world?

    • bluhare says:

      Yup. Trying to be arty sometimes falls flat. It did for me anyway. I mean, who cares. Just get divorced already

      • notasugarhere says:

        bluhare huge hug!

      • SM says:

        It goes along with their perfectly retrained thirst for publicity. Maybe it is just me but I always got that strange vibe from them, like she was trying to make him into a bigger deal that he was and be an it couple but it never took off, maybe that is one of the reasons for their split. It just did not work out the way they/she wanted to.

    • ElleV says:

      @Hench – you’re not cynical, this is dumb and/or disingenuous (or possibly I’m just as cynical as you are lol)

      Maybe I’m not rich and special and precious enough, but I have NEVER seen big, passionate, whiskey-and-burgers-love-for-eternity end in a chill, fun, BFF way. It’s usually Angie-and-Brad scorched earth, Burton-and-Taylor toxic boomerang, or a slow, heartbreaking march to indifference… the only people I know who break up like this never cared much anyway or cared more about appearances and overcompensated on social media for the mess behind the scenes

  7. Esmom says:

    That is one strange spin on a split. That’s all I’ve got.

  8. Lara says:

    They are a mess. They always acted as though they were an artist and muse creating epic art together when they just made crappy pseudo-religious fare and movies with racists (Mel Gibson) and assaulters (Emile hirsch). Polish was also sued recently for assaulting a crew member on a movie, and kate allegedly screamed at the guys wife.

    She also definitely cheated on Alex with this ugly guy, because he was willing to be her public pap stroll partner. She basically just stars in low budget crap nowadays that no one sees so bye girl.

    • Darla says:

      I think that there’s always been an ungenerous interpretation of Kate, which began when she first got with Askars and was lead by a certain blogger (not this site).

      • Lara says:

        It is not ungenerous at all. When these two first got together there were pictures of them All. The. Time. She has also done paparazzi photoshoots sponsored by clothing brands.

      • Cava24 says:

        Gossip bloggers definitely had it in for her, if you look back at some of their posts now, it’s pretty awful. She always did lots of pap walks and got paid to do them by various brands (the clothes and accessories were always new and currently available, only seen once even though she was getting papped constantly, etc). In the age of IG, a lot of people are doing the same sort of thing, but doing it directly. I think it was the disingenuousness of the pap strolls that made people roll their eyes at her but the hate was disproportionate to what she did. That said, a lot of her posts about Polish are over the top- lots of “we are artists!” etc. She’s only ever been single for very short stretches of her life since she got famous and she always goes hard on the “look at us, we’re the perfect couple thing” (which, if I recall, did not work with Askars) so it’ll be interesting to see where she comes out.

    • Jules says:

      this sounds like a fair analysis to me, they seem to think so very highly of themselves.

  9. Peanutbuttr says:

    When she and Polish got together, her career was already in a bit of a downturn and the gossip blogs hated her for both the rumored Chris Martin fling and because she allegedly stole Askar from Evan Rachel Wood. She was also thirsty AF and kept getting papped.

    • Darla says:

      Yes, the blogger I mentioned really went at her for Askar and ERW, but as we now know, there were many reasons Askar and ERW wouldn’t have gotten together, and I doubt Kate played any role. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but my impression was there were a couple of dates, and that’s it. I don’t think there was any “stealing’ involved. Single young people were dating a bit, and then something grew serious. That’s totally how it works. I don’t know about her pap strolls, I’m not saying she’s perfect, I just feel she was really treated very ungenerously at the time. Just my opinion.

      • Lara says:

        Again, it’s not ungenerous. She saw in Alex an opportunity to boost her visibility, and dropped him as soon as she met this guy, who was willing to make her his “muse”.

      • Darla says:

        Lara, that’s why I use the word ungenerous. You cannot possibly know the motivations of a person you never met and you have interpreted her actions in the most ungenerous way possible. I have had this happen to me and I think that’s why it’s something I notice. BTW, the motivations ascribed to me? Never even crossed my mind.

    • Huma says:

      I don’t understand how she’s even still famous. Her acting career was always going nowhere and has been totally dead in the water for well over a decade, and the only other thing she had going for her was being thin enough for sample sizes. She basically made her name showing up to the opening of envelopes in some third rate Chanel no one with an actual career wanted. That’s not worth anything anymore either, so why is she still getting coverage.

  10. Kristen says:

    They always seemed like kind of a strange couple.

  11. Lala11_7 says:

    All I know about Polish is that he and his brother made one of the strangest movies that I actually LOVE and haven’t been able to see since it was released at the theater in 1999 cause it seems to NEVA be on cable or streaming…”Twin Falls, Idaho” …I actually love what Kate wrote cause I OVERSTAND!

    • notasugarhere says:

      You can buy it on dvd from amazon or eBay, not sure if it is on any streaming services.

  12. Maria says:

    Bruh that is the weirdest split announcement I ever saw.

    I get wanting it to be loving etc or whatever I guess, but I never before heard of a split announcement that had FLASHBACKS, lol.

  13. lucy2 says:

    I’ve always gotten the impression she’s someone who courted attention, so that flowery write up doesn’t surprise me. But I guess better to part as friends who fell out of love than some big catastrophe.

  14. Snappyfish says:

    They both look like aliens in the header.

    • Jules says:

      along these lines, in the black and white photo– where and who are the hands coming from?

  15. Case says:

    “…we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as we do in this decision to separate.”

    I’m sorry, I roll my eyes so hard at statements in which the celebrity couple is like “we love each other more than ever, we’re the best friends in the entire world…but we’re divorcing.” Wonderful if a split can happen amicably, but it’s just so disingenuous to act like you’re in such a wonderful place when clearly something went so wrong that you’re going through legal proceedings to detach from each other. Let’s not go over-the-top about how much you adore each other, you know?

    I heard Kate interviewed on a podcast once and thought she seemed really sweet. Something about this relationship always came off as a bit weird and obsessive, though.

    • Anna says:

      Agreed. And how she got so, so skinny after being with him. It always felt like she spent her life trying to conform to this very specific ideal he had, that made him look good–and her, too, I guess–but it just always gave me weird vibes.

    • megs283 says:

      Yeah. I mean, I don’t talk that way about my husband. I mean, it would be nice if I did – but this is such a WEIRD thing to say when you’re divorcing.

    • AMA1977 says:

      I rolled my eyes for all of those reasons, because yeah, if you love each other SO MUCH then you would be continuing your marriage and not writing this drivel, but this:

      “…we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as we do in this decision to separate.”

      “They” mean “…we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as WE ARE in this decision to separate.”

      Didn’t anyone proofread this for them?? That phrase is distractingly incorrect and nonsensical.

  16. ambel says:

    Is she supposed to be a good actress ? Because she was a dud as Lois Lane.

  17. MaryContrary says:

    Why in the world would you need to explain in such a verbose fashion that you’re splitting up?! JC on a biscuit-who cares other than your family/friends who I assume you have told!!??? Also-she looks like a mannequin-ridiculous.

  18. Lowrider says:

    They were an odd coupling to me. She dated all these hot guys then married an older man with a child, remained married for 8 years (!!) but had no children.

  19. Gail Hirst says:

    She played a crack addict in a Jason Statham movie w/James Franco called ‘Home Front’ and I thought she was BRILLIANT in the role. Completely, utterly believable. I know she lost a LOT of weight for that role. I watched it a couple of months ago, so it’s still fairly fresh in my mind. To tell the truth, though, that’s the only movie I can think of she’s in…….

  20. You Know Me says:

    Man oh man – took me a few seconds to realize this isn’t a photo of Gwen, thought she was already done with Country Drunken

  21. Winnie Cooper’s Mom says:

    I think the only reason she’s still relevant is bc one of the cable channels keeps playing “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton” on repeat. It’s one of those movies that’s always on. 😆

  22. Lunasf17 says:

    I liked her with ASKARS (ok I probably just like ASKARS because he is a Viking god) and always thought this guy was a weird downgrade. Everyone few years I would look her up and kept thinking she had a baby but I guess not. She used to work for a jewelry company called Jewelmint I was into like a decade or more ago but can’t remember what else she has been up to. Good luck to them both I guess.

  23. Sarah I says:

    I saw her in a British production a while back, and I thought, who is that? Finally figured it out and I was stunned. She was great. Her acting was really good, she looked beautiful, and my gosh, did she have presence. I think she could turn into a really good (in demand) actress. Well, she already is a good actress. I also remember reading that she was wracked with eating disorder(s) that really sidelined her. Whatever or however she is going about her life, I look at her as a young woman trying to heal. So I give her a lot of slack and sympathy. I thought they were an odd couple too, but he may be who she needed to heal herself.

    I wish her a lot of blessings, and wish to see her in more productions (British!!!!!). I wish her well, I wish her wellness, and healing. She is still so young. Wish I could tell you all the production I saw her in, but I don’t remember.

    • Dlc says:

      I also wondered if she was sidelined by an eating disorder. She was so buff and got so much attention in blue crush, then seemed to spend most of her time getting photographed in clothes looking VERY waif-like.

  24. Coffeeisgood says:

    Maybe she will pull a Megan fox and get a hot new boyfriend and revive her career

  25. Alex says:

    I thought she was so cool in Blue Crush, back when I was in high school or junior high. But I just confused her with the character. In real life she seemed like…way less interested in acting or cool roles, and like…idk more interested in being all upper-crust and removed from interesting projects.

  26. GrassRoots says:

    I hate to admit it but I loved the movie “Blue Crush”! So cheesy of me but she is terrific in it and it’s totally fun! Total girl power! If you haven’t it, you should!

  27. Bloody Hell says:

    what took them to the brink of divorce? both too busy / no time for each other .. i would never have thought they took a divorce seem so in love