After 20 Years Of Married Life, Robert De Niro Confirmed Some Very Sad News

For De Niro fans, it had to be a blow. But whatever goes on in his personal life, his career will remain a constant. The veteran star has been honing his craft since he was just ten years old. Back then, he played the Cowardly Lion in his school’s version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! “Cowardly” is certainly not something you can call De Niro today. You could even call him brave for addressing those rumors.

De Niro wouldn’t appear in many other school productions, though, as he dropped out at 16 to study acting. And after a handful of movie roles, he had his first-ever team-up with Martin Scorsese. De Niro fans know just how tight he is with Scorsese – both personally and professionally. The director may have been a source of good advice, then, when it came to De Niro’s relationship with Hightower.

De Niro’s big break actually came back in 1974, though. That’s when he starred as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. And De Niro went above and beyond for the role. He not only learned to speak a number of Sicilian dialects, but he also delivered the majority of his lines in the language. Did it all pay off? You betcha!

De Niro was handsomely rewarded for his portrayal of Vito. Yup, he snatched the 1975 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. And after a string of Scorsese-led films, among other projects, the star’s performances proved he was worthy of that incredible honor. We definitely know what Hightower saw in him!

In 1976, for instance, De Niro was the lead in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. He was Travis Bickle – a Vietnam War veteran who begins to lose his mind behind the wheel of his cab. That role earned him yet another Oscar nomination. Famously, it also gave the world the signature line “You talkin’ to me?” Ever stood in front of a mirror and said those words? We have, too...

And when it comes to De Niro’s best roles, we can’t forget Raging Bull. While preparing to play Jake LaMotta, De Niro mastered boxing. He even put on 60 pounds to accurately portray the fighter in later life. And, once again, he received an Academy Award for his efforts. This time it was the coveted Best Actor award that he scooped in recognition of his incredible performance. There may have been rumors about his marriage, then, but no one can deny that he’s great at his job.

Before De Niro even met Hightower, he was one of Hollywood’s greats. But by the mid-1980s, he had a problem. Simply put, the star worried that he may have typecast himself. So, out went the Mafia-related roles and in came comedies and drama.

In the 1999 comedy Analyze This, De Niro satirized his earlier roles by playing a gangster in need of therapy. And the following year, he starred as a tough-to-please dad in Meet the Parents – a hit flick that raked in more than $330 million worldwide.

Nope, there’s no way you can define De Niro’s career by a particular genre! While he may be most famed for his mob flicks, he’s been in thrillers, comedies, crime epics and even musicals. He’s also earned seven Academy Award nominations – the most recent being for Silver Linings Playbook.

And for a large part of his career, De Niro had one woman by his side: Hightower. Hightower hadn’t climbed the ranks in Hollywood as De Niro had. Instead, she’d set her sights on traveling the world – and she’d just happened to meet the actor in the process.

Hightower picked up work here and there to look after her family, who had little money. And when she got her own big break, it wasn’t in the form of a major Hollywood movie. No, she was recruited as a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines. That gave her the opportunity to explore places beyond her Mississippi hometown.

Hightower had then moved to Paris and from there to London. And while living in the English capital, she worked as both a mutual fund trader and a restaurant employee. No one can ever accuse her of being lazy! In 1987, then, she’d been on the grind at the upmarket Chinese restaurant Mr. Chow. It was there that she’d met De Niro.

At that point, of course, De Niro had already won two Oscars and starred in a whole lot of films. But here’s something that may surprise you. In 2013 Hightower admitted to Katie Couric that she’d had no idea who De Niro was. It was up to her co-workers to let her know that he’s a famous actor.

But while the pair may have flirted that night, serious sparks didn’t fly right away. You see, De Niro was married to his first wife Diahnne Abbott at the time. And even after he and Abbott divorced, De Niro started a relationship with restaurant owner and model Toukie Smith instead.

De Niro and Smith also went on to have twin sons named Aaron and Julian – but their relationship didn’t last. Finally, after this split, De Niro began a serious relationship with Hightower. And, adorably, the pair got married ten years after they’d first met at Mr. Chow. It seemed like the perfect end to their love story. At that time, there was no hint of the gossip that would later plague their relationship.

Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel were among the 11 people invited to De Niro and Hightower’s big day. And, naturally, the guests showered the newlyweds with their best wishes. “There were congratulations all around,” a source told People shortly after the wedding took place.

Then less than a year on, De Niro and Hightower shared more exciting news: they were expecting their first child together. But their bliss wouldn’t last long. In August 1999 – a mere two years after the wedding – De Niro started divorce proceedings. Was this the end of one of Hollywood’s most adorable couples?

According to People, a friend of De Niro’s said of the split, “[De Niro] was just not working hard enough at his marriage to [Hightower].” The couple did, however, succeed in co-parenting their son until 2001. Then they fell into a tough custody battle.

At that time, Hightower alleged that her partner had been unfaithful. She also said that he used narcotics and abused alcohol. De Niro denied those claims while adding one of his own: apparently, his estranged wife had a fiery temper. It seemed as though there was no way back for the marriage – but somehow things got better. Before the rumors started, anyway...

Yes, rather than following through with their divorce, De Niro and Hightower renewed their wedding vows in 2004. This time, famous faces including Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese looked on as they said their “I dos.”

De Niro and Hightower also brought in two judges to officiate the ceremony, in which they re-devoted their lives to each other. De Niro even joked about the setup. “They can make sure this one sticks,” he said. And for a while, at least, that seemed to be the case.

Yup, for a few years, it seemed as though De Niro and Hightower were on a better path. Seven years after the renewal of their vows, the pair had their second child together – this time with the aid of a surrogate. Their daughter was born in 2011.

And three years later, De Niro told People that he enjoyed the triumphs – and occasional tribulations – of fatherhood. “Sometimes you’re the last person they want to deal with. It’s like when you walk your kids to school, and they get older, and they don’t want to hold your hand,” he said. We bet there are plenty of parents out there who know what he means!

But after his youngest daughter Helen arrived, De Niro claimed that it’s all “good stuff now.” He also said that he hoped all of his children would stay in New York City and live nearby. And it’s not often that De Niro is so candid.

Aside from these rare comments about his children, De Niro – and Hightower, for that matter – have kept most of the details of their relationship private. Eventually, though, the couple came up against a rumor that they just couldn’t ignore.

On June 10, 2018, De Niro and Hightower attended the 72nd Annual Tony Awards. Nothing unusual about that! But what came next set tongues wagging. You see, for months nobody spotted the pair together. And all the while, De Niro continued attending public events that he’d normally be at with his wife. Could they have ended their romance for good this time?

Sadly, it looked like it. In November 2018 someone close to De Niro and Hightower told Page Six, “They are not living together at this time.” Another person added, “De Niro and [Hightower] are breaking up. He’s been at a few things since the very end of the summer without her – and rumor has it they are done.” Say it ain’t so!

This gossip continued to circulate in tabloids and celebrity news magazines. And it looked like De Niro was reading the reports. One week after Page Six published the unconfirmed news, the star released a response to the rumors.

De Niro – who has typically kept schtum about his life behind the cameras – confirmed the rumors about his and Hightower’s separation. In a statement to CNN, he said, “Grace and I have two beautiful children together.”

“We are entering a period of transition in our relationship which is a difficult but constructive process,” De Niro added in his statement. He also praised Hightower for how she had helped raise their children – as well as making a request of the public.

“I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting,” De Niro wrote. And while the actor offered no explanation for the split, gossip naturally bubbled up again after the news broke.

It was assumed, for example, that the split happened because the couple have opposing political opinions. One whisper suggested that Hightower was a supporter of President Donald Trump. De Niro, on the other hand? He regularly disagreed with Trump’s actions. But there may have been even more to it.

An insider apparently told Life&Style that the separation was largely down to cold, hard cash. The unknown source reportedly claimed, “She was spending his money like there was an endless supply. [De Niro]’s definitely made some movies just to pay the bills.” Isn’t getting divorced pretty expensive, though?

Well, yes! But the insider claimed that De Niro would be better off in the long run – or his checking account would be, anyway. “It might cost him a pretty penny now, but a divorce may actually leave [De Niro] with a retirement fund,” they said.

Don’t assume that Hightower has no cash of her own, though, as she’s been working during her marriage to De Niro. She’s had some small acting roles in critically acclaimed movies, including Precious and The Paperboy.

Hightower also runs her own non-profit organization that sources environmentally friendly fair-trade coffee from Rwanda. And all of her efforts have reportedly armed her with a $16 million net worth separate from her husband.

De Niro’s bank account has a bit more padding than his estranged wife’s, though. Reportedly, he’s worth a whopping $500 million! It’s all down to that long movie career, of course, as well as some savvy real estate investments and business interests. Surely he could spare some cash, then, to keep his wife sweet?

Whatever the truth of Hightower’s spending, she apparently didn’t see the divorce coming. Yes, according to Page Six, the separation “blindsided” her. “As of a few weeks ago, everything seemed fine,” a source supposedly added.

Considering how private De Niro and Hightower have always been, their decision not to release an explanation for their separation is hardly surprising. Fortunately for De Niro, he'll be walking away with his $500-million fortune mostly intact, as the actor only has to pay his ex-wife $1 million annually.