Nia Vardalos has filed for divorce from her husband, Ian Gomez, after 25 years of marriage. The My Big Fat Greek Wedding star cited irreconcilable differences as the reason behind the split, and the pair released a statement to USA Today which read: "We've been respectfully separated for a lengthy period of time. Our relationship became a friendship so the decision to end the marriage is completely mutual and amicable. It is our hope that decency will prevail on the reporting of this story which will soon be yesterday’s news. Thank you for respecting our privacy."
© Photo: Getty ImagesNia and Ian have confirmed their split
Nia, who shares an 11-year-old daughter with Ian, has requested joint legal custody in the L.A. Superior Court filing, and the pair listed their date of separation as 29 June 2017. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was partially based on Nia's own experience in falling in love and marrying a non-Greek man, and the star received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing for the rom-com. The 55-year-old previously opened up about her wedding to Ian, telling Hollywood.com: "Everything was overblown. My family was furious with me because I refused to buy a wedding dress. I thought it was a ridiculous expense and I wanted to wear my mum's dress. My dad said, 'You are going to embarrass us in front of the Greek community. Everyone is going to say we couldn't afford to buy you a dress.' The limo arrived and it was like faux blue and smelled like prom vomit. Isn't that classic?"
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The couple adopted their daughter when she was aged three, and Nia spoke about becoming a mother in her memoir, Instant Mom. She wrote: "Cut to I immediately, very suddenly, very instantly became a mum when we got to adopt our daughter via American foster care. She was almost 3 years old, and the entire process of motherhood was accelerated for me. I felt like I was pushed down a hill skiing with no poles."
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