Will Arnett 'Cried For An Hour' In His Car After 'Brutal, Brutal' Divorce From Amy Poehler

Ten years later, Will Arnett is opening up about his breakup from ex-wife Amy Poehler.

As you may know, the beloved couple tied the knot in 2003 and had two sons together: Archie, now 13, and Abel, now 11. After nine years of marriage they announced their separation in 2012 — right when Arnett was filming the fourth season of Arrested Development.

Since the acclaimed sitcom was prematurely canceled by Fox in 2006, one would think Will should have been excited to reprise his role as Gob Bluth. But in an interview with The Guardian, the 51-year-old admitted it was an “excruciating” time for him because of his divorce.

He recalled:

“Just brutal, brutal, brutal. I was driving to the set one day and I pulled over to the side of the road and cried for an hour.”

Ugh, breakups are the worst!

While the circumstances certainly made starring in an ensemble comedy difficult for the actor, he credited Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz for helping make his pain something “hilarious and cathartic” for the series.

Aside from having to act through the pain, Will had to deal with the public’s cavalier reactions to his very personal divorce. He mused:

“People talk about you like they know you and they talk about your relationship as if they know what’s going on. So imagine how weird that is. It’s brutal with any relationship, and we have kids. And without getting into specifics, you then see stuff online, like, this one journalist wrote: ‘I’m Team Amy.’ I’m like: ‘You’re a grown person. What are you talking about? This is a breakup. This is a family. This isn’t some game.’ “

Though it hurt for a while, Arnett admitted that “you get on with it” over time. It sounds like he and Amy have gotten on with it, too, and are on even better terms than they were five years ago as they continue to co-parent their children.

Will explained:

“It’s been almost 10 years and my kids are so lucky that Amy is their mother. And I’m so lucky that we’re such a huge part of each other’s lives, even more so than we were five years ago.”

For her part, the SNL alum opened up about the pair’s divorce in her 2014 memoir, Yes Please. She wrote:

“I don’t want to talk about my divorce because it is too sad and too personal. I also don’t like people knowing my s**t. I will say a few things. I am proud of how my ex-husband, Will, and I have been taking care of our children; I am beyond grateful he is their father; and I don’t think a [nearly] ten-year marriage constitutes failure. That being said, getting a divorce really sucks… Any painful experience makes you see things differently. It also reminds you of the simple truths that we purposely forget every day or else we would never get out of bed. Things like, nothing lasts forever and relationships can end. The best that can happen is you learn a little more about what you can handle and you stay soft through the pain. Perhaps you feel wiser. Maybe your experience can be of help to others.”

These days, Arnett has a lot to be happy about: in 2020, he welcomed his son, Alexander Denison, with girlfriend Alessandra Brawn, and currently stars on the Netflix series Murderville.

[Image via Vanity Fair YouTube/ABC YouTube]