Aisha Tyler Breaks Down As She Addresses Her Divorce For The First Time On ‘The Talk’

Aisha Tyler has addressed the end of her 23-year marriage to Jeff Tietjens. In an emotional announcement on CBS’ The Talk, Tyler confirmed tabloid reports that her marriage is ending. Aisha told viewers that she has been separated from her husband since January 2015 and that she hadn’t talked about it on-air because they had been trying to work things out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Je3QhPkwho

When Tietjens filed divorce documents last week, Aisha Tyler had hoped to keep the news private and announce it after the divorce was finalized because she wanted to protect her husband. The talk show host explained that Tietjens is not involved in show business at all, and she wanted to shield him from the tabloid backlash that she knew would come. But Aisha said that tabloid reporters are always “perched” at the courthouse, and they rifle through all of the divorce filings, so the story was leaked last week.

Tyler broke down as he said that she met her husband in college and that he was her best friend for more than half of her life. While she didn’t explain the reason for the divorce, Aisha made it clear that she does not consider her 25-year relationship with Tietjens a failure.

“I don’t, not in any way, see this relationship as a failure. I was with this extraordinary person, I had this extraordinary love affair for 25 years of my life. And that is how I see it. I don’t think we failed…We loved each other passionately and we lived life fully and we’re trying to let each other go in the kindest way we possibly can.”

Last week, TMZ reported that Aisha’s husband, Jeff Tietjens, filed divorce documents in Los Angeles Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences. The court papers revealed that Tietjens, who is a lawyer, isn’t seeking spousal support from Aisha, but he is reserving the right to do so later.

Aisha Tyler met her future husband at Dartmouth College, and they married in May 1992. Aisha has been vocal about the couple’s struggles with infertility, but she previously announced it was a mutual decision to stop fertility treatments when her doctor said they likely wouldn’t work.

In a 2014 interview with Advocate, Tyler said a marriage can be complete without children.

“For someone to say that marriage is only about procreation is a joke,” Aisha said. “I didn’t marry my husband to have children. I married my husband because I love my husband. I believe that the essence of marriage is choosing someone who loves you for who you are, embraces everything about you, and building a life with that person.”

Aisha Tyler revealed that last Friday’s episode of The Talk was taped before the news broke, so that’s why she didn’t speak about the divorce in that episode. But she also made it clear that she didn’t have to speak about it all despite the fact that some viewers called her a hypocrite for not sharing her story sooner.

Tyler ended her announcement by saying she will always love Tietjens and she will do anything she can to help him in his life.

“He’s a wonderful person, he’s been my best friend for almost my entire life. I’ll always love him. So that’s what I’m going to say to the people who are speculating about the relationship, and the rest of it is none of your damn business.”

Take a look at the video below for more on Aisha Tyler’s divorce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4nFmRNZs8U

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]