Amy Poehler And Will Arnett's Relationship (And Divorce) Timeline

Emmy nominees Amy Poehler and Will Arnett were a match made in comedy heaven. Poehler solidified herself as a funny force on "Saturday Night Live" as a cast member and as the co-host of "Weekend Update" before starring in her own show "Parks and Recreation." Arnett climbed the ranks as a unique comedic voice by starring in "Bojack Horseman" and "Arrested Development." Poehler and Arnett got married in 2003, the first marriage for Poehler and the second marriage for Arnett (who was briefly married to Penelope Anne Miller from 1994 to 1995). The couple welcomed two sons together, Archie who was born in 2008, and Abel, born in 2010.

Poehler and Arnett seemed like the perfect pair. The two actors appeared inseparable during their marriage, often working together on projects and cracking jokes during red carpet events. But no one was laughing when the couple broke up in 2012. Now, the two are co-parenting their two teenage boys and appear to be on good terms with each other. But their reconciliation came with lots of heartbreak as the pair tried to navigate separate lives following their nine-year marriage.

For Will Arnett, he was obviously smitten the first time he saw Amy Poehler perform. In 1996, he attended a show that Poehler was performing in with her improv troupe, Upright Citizen's Brigade. "I went with my then-girlfriend, and she was like, 'You have a crush on that girl!'" Arnett told People of his first impression of Poehler. "Amy did stick out. She was fantastic and obviously really cute."

They were both seeing other people at the time and did not start dating until 2000 when they reconnected through mutual friends. Arnett was by Poehler's side when she famously joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 20011. The couple were married by the time Arnett's show "Arrested Development" premiered in 2003. Poehler told People in 2005 what she liked about being married to Arnett. "He makes me feel very safe," she shared. "You can have a lot of adventures if you have someone by your side."

The chemistry between Amy Poehler and Will Arnett was so strong, it translated onto the big screen. After the couple married in 2003, they appeared alongside each other in several movies and television shows. Their first time appearing together was in the FOX series "Arrested Development" on which Arnett was a star. Poehler made a memorable guest appearance as the impromptu wife of Arnett's character. Arnett returned the favor by making a guest appearance on Poehler's NBC show "Parks and Recreation" in 2010. The pair also attended several red carpets together as their respective shows received critical acclaim and would often be nominated for big awards in Hollywood.

The two also co-starred in the movie 2007 "Blades of Glory" where they played a successful sibling skating duo. "We had the opportunity to work together every day, so that was kind of great. It was a lot of fun," Arnett told Collider of working with his wife. In 2011, the couple shared the NBC lineup as both of them had their own sitcoms on the network, with Poehler still starring in "Parks and Recreation" and Arnett working alongside Christina Applegate in "Up All Night." Over the years, Arnett even appeared alongside Poehler's "Saturday Night Live" co-stars in projects such as "Hot Rod" and "30 Rock."

After nine years of marriage, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett separated in September 2012, leaving fans wondering what went wrong in their relationship. Both of their reps confirmed the split to People, but did not offer a comment on the separation. A source did tell US Weekly at the time that the breakup was "very amicable." RadarOnline was told by a source that the relationship simply "fizzled out. Will and Amy started to feel more like best friends than a married couple — and sadly they lost their spark," the source revealed. "They drifted apart, like a lot of couples do, but there's no malice in the split, nor was anyone else involved. The two still love each other very dearly — and everything is completely amicable — but the romance died and neither one of them was happy, so something had to be done."

Arnett officially filed for divorce in 2014, and the divorce was finalized in 2016. According to The Daily Mail, the divorce settlement said that the couple would share joint custody of their two sons. Neither would be expected to pay child support or alimony. Following the divorce, Poehler confirmed that she was dating another comedian, Nick Kroll. (Poehler and Kroll were together from 2013 to 2015.) In October 2024, People confirmed that Poehler was dating Joel Lovell, a former editor for The New York Times. Arnett found love with businesswoman Alessandra Brawn and the two welcomed a son together in 2020, named Alexander. Arnett and Brawn have been together since 2019.

Amy Poehler is usually tight-lipped about her personal life, but she did reference her ended marriage in her 2014 memoir "Yes Please." She admitted, "Getting a divorce really sucks," but also shared her gratitude for her time with former husband, Will Arnett. "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 10-year marriage constitutes failure," she wrote (via E News).

While Poehler said that her divorce was "too sad and too personal" to discuss in full detail, she did use a metaphor to illustrate how the experience made her feel. "Imagine spreading everything you care about on a blanket and then tossing the whole thing up in the air. The process of divorce is about loading that blanket, throwing it up, watching it all spin, and worrying what stuff will break when it lands." Poehler continued to share her honest emotions on the subject by saying, "When you are a person going through a divorce you feel incredibly alone, yet you are constantly reminded by society of how frequently divorce happens and how common it has become. You aren't allowed to feel special, but no one knows the specific ways you are in pain."

"Smartless" podcast host Will Arnett got candid about his divorce from Amy Poehler in a 2022 interview with The Guardian. "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." He also recalled a tough time: "I was driving to the set one day and I pulled over to the side of the road and cried for an hour."

Arnett also recalled how going through divorce was "brutal" when it was open for the public to comment on. "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.'"

As his divorce was occurring, Arnett starred in the movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" alongside actress Megan Fox. During a 2016 appearance on "Conan", Fox detailed how Arnett seemed to be on a dating rampage following his separation. "He was sort of dating a lot and every other week there was a new girlfriend and he would bring them to set," she said. "They were progressively getting younger and younger as the weeks went on, and it got to the point where I was like, 'Buddy, I'm worried. Should I talk to craft service and make sure they have Lunchables for your girlfriend?'"