The Mentalist actor Simon Baker and wife Rebecca Rigg announce they’ve split after 29 years of marriage: ‘We remain close friends’

The Mentalist actor Simon Baker and his wife Rebecca Rigg have announced they’ve split after 29 years of marriage, having quietly separated some time last year. 

‘We remain close friends and our three children will always be the most important focus of our lives.’ the pair said in a joint statement obtained by People Magazine. 

Australian actor Baker, 51, first met Rigg, 53, in the early ’90s and the former couple share three children together, Stella, 27, Claude, 22, and Harry, 19. 

Split: The Mentalist actor Simon Baker and wife Rebecca Rigg announce they’ve split after 29 years of marriage: ‘We remain close friends’

Meanwhile Rigg, also an Australian actress, is best known for her roles in moves Fatty Finn and Ellie Parker, as well as having a minor role alongside Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. 

The pair tied the knot in 1998 after five years of living together.

The actor was just 24 when he and Rebecca had their first child, daughter Stella, who is now in her twenties.

In happier times: The couple are seen attending the Prix De Diane 2019 at hippodrome de Chantilly on June 16, 2019 in Paris, France

‘We started young,’ he once said in an interview to Mornings. ‘I don’t know if it was that young, I’d just turned 24.’ 

And it was his daughter who encouraged Simon to accept his famous role in The Devil Wears Prada.

‘She’s a major force in who I am as a person,’ the actor said of Stella.

Speaking to People Magazine in 2018 about their marriage and why they never celebrated their wedding anniversary, he said: ‘We’ve never really been big on it. Anniversaries, they’re an odd thing, aren’t they?’

Red carpet duo: The actor previously gave an interview where he revealed the couple did not celebrate wedding anniversaries  

‘I think we put too much pressure on it. It’s not like that with us. We’re a team. Most of the time, 99 percent of the time, we’re really great friends. So I don’t need to mark it with great things.’

He went on: ‘When we put too much pressure on something, everything gets a little clipped and we don’t feel like we’re ourselves.’

‘And I think the most important thing in our relationship is that we’re both able to be ourselves. I think it’s probably the most important thing in most relationships, isn’t it?’

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