In news that no one saw coming, Sara Gilbert officially filed for separation from her wife, Linda Perry following five years of marriage this past December. With the couple sharing one child together — a 5-year-old son named Rhodes — and Perry stepmom to GIlbert's two other children with her ex, Allison Adler, the two will be actively working to co-parent in the coming months.
The breakup comes off the heels of Gilbert leaving The Talk this past spring to spend more time with her family, but not all fans are familiar with her wife and children. Gilbert, who created and executive produced The Talk for years on CBS, curated a thoughtful and stimulating talk show atmosphere. But after almost nine years at the table, she decided to take a step back and fans with tight-knit families understood why.
More recently, Gilbert has burst back into the mainstream thanks to the Roseanne reboot last year, and the spin-off series The Conners last fall. The mother-of-three took her expertise to the show where she first broke out as a teen, spearheading and executive producing the Roseanne reboot and then doing the same on The Conners.
Gilbert also played a starring role in some early seasons of The Big Bang Theory, where she joined her friend and ex-boyfriend, Johnny Galecki. Gilbert's character ran her course after a few years, but many fans still hold a place in their hearts for the quirky scientist.
All the while, Gilbert was building a cozy private life for herself, and now she will finally take some time to enjoy it. Here is a look at Gilbert's family off-screen.
Children with Allison Adler
Gilbert has two children from her 10-year-long relationship with TV producer Allison Adler. The two got together in 2001, and Adler had their son, Levi Hank, in 2004. Gilbert then gave birth to their daughter, Sawyer Jane in 2007. During all this time, Gilbert was private about her sexuality. She came out publicly in 2010, revealing that she is a lesbian.
Gilbert and Adler ended their relationship in 2011. According to a report by PEOPLE at the time, the breakup was completely amicable. Gilbert and Adler share custody of their children, who are now 14 and 11 years old respectively.
Gilbert and Linda Perry — Early Days
In November of 2011, Gilbert began seeing singer-songwriter Linda Perry. Gilbert gushed about the new romance on The Talk, which was riding high in its early days. Gilbert confirmed the relationship after they were seen together by paparazzi, and Perry made a few guest appearances on The Talk in the coming years.
Engagement
Shortly after same-sex marriage was made legal in California, Gilbert and Perry decided to tie the knot. Perry was the one to propose, Gilbert later revealed on The Talk. She described the picnic where Perry laid it on the line in the April of 2013.
"She goes to her backpack and she pulls out these T-shirts and the first T-Shirt says 'will' and then puts on another T-shirt and it says, 'you,' then 'marry,' 'me,'" Gilbert recalled fondly. "It was the most amazing proposal ever."
Marriage
Perry and Gilbert's wedding came in the March of 2014 in Malibu, California. They were wed in an intimate ceremony surrounded by friends and family, and Gilbert said that they made sure to actually spend time with everyone there.
"We decided that we wanted to be together and enjoy people's company, because I think people miss that part of their wedding. We wanted to bring everybody with us down the hill and have this communal feeling," Gilbert said on The Talk at the time.
"It feels more different than you expect," she reflected. "You feel like you're part of this institution and it's official, and, oh, I better not mess this up. You feel safer in a way and you feel like you've really committed and it's not about, can I deal with this or not deal with it. It becomes, how will we deal with our relationship together."
Pregnancy Announcement
Perry was involved with Gilbert's kids, Levi Hank and Sawyer Jane, but the couple decided to have a baby of their own as well. Gilbert announced that they were expecting their child on The Talk, and later explained why she felt that it was important to bring a new baby into the family.
"I knew when we got married that Linda needed a baby. That even though we were a family — the four of us — she needed to follow a little soul from day one," Gilbert said in 2016, when she was honored at the Family Equality Council's L.A. Impact Awards.
Rhodes Emilio
On Feb. 28, 2015, Gilbert gave birth to Rhodes Emilio Gilbert Perry. Now four years old, Rhodes has been a fixture in Gilbert's banter on The Talk, as well as Perry's work.
Perry on Motherhood
At the same 2016 L.A. Impact Awards ceremony, Perry gushed about their bundle of joy.
"Sara and I, she's changed my life. We were talking about having a baby and we described this little human. He's in my life. That guy that we were talking about, that little human is sitting upstairs in the hotel room and I can't believe it. He's changed my life," she said.
Gilbert on Leaving 'The Talk'
Finally, on April 9, Gilbert announced on the air that she was leaving The Talk at the end of the season. Gilbert assured fans that this was not a decision she made lightly, and that she would still be around as a producer, and to guest host from time to time.
"I've decided that it's time for me to leave the show this year," she said. "I obviously love it here, and like I said, this was extremely difficult."
"Last season, I did The Conners as you know, and was also producing and here, and I loved it and felt totally empowered, but also If I'm being honest about it, I think my life was slightly out of balance, and I wasn't able to spend as much time with my three kids as I'd like, or time for myself," Gilbert went on. "And as I've continued on I'm starting to develop more things to produce and I'm having opportunities to act, and I'm just feeling like I don't know how I'm going to do it all."
Gilbert also said that she hopes to finish Rhodes Emilio's baby book with her newfound free time.
The separation
On Dec. 27, news broke that Gilbert filed for legal separation from wife Linda Perry. The 44-year-old sitcom star and her 54-year-old wife were married for more than five years, initially tying the knot in May 2014. TMZ further detailed that according to documents obtained by the outlet, Gilbert allegedly listed the date of separation as Aug. 13, requesting no spousal support be awarded to either Perry or herself.
No further details have been disclosed as of this writing. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for all your celebrity couple news!
