Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor reconcile after 2017 split

Ben Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor have got back together nearly five years after they broke up.

The 56-year-old actor moved back into the family home in 2020 so he could spend time with his children, Ella, 19, and Quinlin, 16, amid the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, and Ben admitted the situation later “evolved” between him and Christine.

He said: “Then, over the course of time, it evolved. We were separated and got back together and we’re happy about that.

“It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic.”

The ‘Night at the Museum’ star admitted he and Christine have a “respect” for how they are both similar and different to one another.

He told Esquire magazine: “I think we have a respect for the ways that we’re similar and the ways we’re different.

“And I think accepting that, you can really appreciate someone more because you’re not trying to get them to change for you.

“Once you accept that, you save a lot of energy. ‘This is something that works for me; this is something that doesn’t work for me.’

“If you have that trust level with your partner, you know that me saying ‘I don’t like doing that thing,’ is not me saying ‘I don’t like you.’ ”

It comes after the couple announced their split in May 2017 after 17 years of marriage.

They said in a statement at the time: “With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.”

The pair first met on the set of TV pilot ‘Heat Vision and Jack’ and they married in Hawaii in 2000.

Ben previously admitted it was love at first sight.

He said: “When I met her, I pretty much thought, ‘That’s the person’. It was like, ‘Wow, this is a great person. I love her.'”