MERYL STREEP
THE OSCAR WINNER PROVIDES EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AFTER GRACE GUMMER’S SURPRISE SPLIT
As her daughter Grace Gummer endures a painful divorce, Meryl is determined to stand by her side and put family first.
It was a match seemingly made in Hollywood heaven: Grace Gummer and Tay Strathairn met when they were kids on the set of the 1994 movie The River Wild, which costarred their parents Meryl Streep and David Strathairn, respectively. “Grace and Tay became involved in late summer of 2017,” an insider tells Closer. “They had reacquainted, and the relationship turned serious quickly.”
So serious that they secretly married — which made it all the more shocking when Grace, 33, and Tay, 39, recently filed for divorce. Some of the couple’s friends didn’t know they had ever wed, but Meryl, 70, was aware and approved of the union. “She loves Tay and his parents,” says the insider. “She’s sad about this, but she is completely, as she is with all of her kids, in Grace’s corner.”
THE IRON LADY
Meryl and her husband of more than 40 years, sculptor Don Gummer, 73, have set a good marital example for Grace and her siblings Henry, 40; Mamie, 36; and Louisa, 28. But Meryl recognizes marriage is a challenge: “It’s a balancing act, especially when you have a job that you consider rewarding.” (All of Meryl’s girls are actors.)
Mamie divorced first husband Benjamin Walker in 2013, and Meryl helped her through the split; she’s since remarried and made Meryl a first-time grandmother last year. While
Meryl dotes on her grandson, she gives all her kids space. “She is a safe haven for them — she trusts them to make their own choices and be smart,” says the insider. “But for Meryl, family has always come first.”
Especially in these tough times. “They’re isolating until the coronavirus pandemic is over,” says the insider. “But there’s a lot of FaceTiming, and Meryl is even doing Zoom. They’re connected.” —