Meryl Streep and her husband, Don Gummer, have been discreetly living apart for over six years, despite their marriage in 1978.

The 74-year-old Oscar-winning actress and the celebrated sculptor, 76, have quietly gone their separate ways.

A representative for the beloved star informed Page Six, “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart.”

This revelation may come as a surprise, as Streep was recently photographed wearing her wedding band at the Princesa de Asturias Awards 2023. The last time they were seen together was at the 2018 Academy Awards.

The couple raised four children on their Connecticut estate in the peaceful town of Salisbury: singer-songwriter Henry Wolfe, 43, and actresses Mamie Gummer, 40, Grace Gummer, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 30.

They are also grandparents, with five grandchildren in the family. Their son, Henry, is married and has two children, while Mamie and her husband, Mehar Sethi, have two kids as well. Grace and her husband, record producer Mark Ronson, recently welcomed their first child. Louisa is known for her role in HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”

In addition to their Connecticut property, the couple once shared a spacious Tribeca loft in New York City until January 2020 when they sold it for USD 15.8 million. In July 2020, Streep purchased a USD 4 million property in Pasadena, California.

Streep and Gummer were introduced by her brother, Harry, in 1978, when the actress was dealing with the death of her boyfriend and “Deer Hunter” co-star John Cazale, who passed away from lung cancer that year.

They married the same year and have maintained their relationship out of the public eye, according to Page Six.

When asked about the key to their enduring marriage, Streep, who most recently appeared in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ told Vogue in 2002, “Goodwill and readiness to bend and to shut up every once in a while.”

She added, “There’s no road map on how to raise a family: it’s always an enormous negotiation. But I have a comprehensive desire to work and to have strong love relationships in my life.”

Streep made a rare comment about her spouse when accepting the Best Actress award for her role in “The Iron Lady” in 2017.

She said in her speech, “First, I’m going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play him out with music. I want him to know that you’ve given me what I cherish most in our lives.”

The couple has been a consistent presence at the Oscars, with Streep receiving a record 21 Academy Award nominations and winning three. (ANI)

[The story, originally from a syndicated feed, has been revised for improved coherence.]