Brad Garrett Secretly Divorced

Emmy Award-winning actor Brad Garrett may be ready to star in the new Fox show, 'Til Death, but that doesn't mean it applies to his real life. The news has just come out that Brad and his wife, Jill Diven, secretly divorced in April.

USA Today nabbed the exclusive while interviewing Garrett about his upcoming series, 'Til Death. The cast and crew of 'Til Death didn't know about Garrett's divorce at the time, but then again, no one did.

The divorce is not a bitter one, with name-calling and drawn-out custody battles. Garrett called Diven "an extraordinary woman; the greatest mom in the world," saying the two remain best friends. "The one thing Jill and I have is our sense of humor."

The couple keep a room for each other at their respective residences in Woodland Hills and Malibu. As for the children, Garrett sound reassuring, saying "Our No. 1 focus is our kids and parenting. We will always be friends because we will never be single parents. We will always be two parents." However, Garrett claims "you can't stay together for the kids, because kids know everything. Sure, it's daunting to have Daddy move out, but when he's back two days later, and he gives Mom a hug, and everyone goes to lunch - that's what it's about."

On the other end of the spectrum, Jill Diven was interviewed by speakerphone, and she divulged she has "nothing but positive things to say about Brad. We both realized we're best friends, and we're always going to be best friends. People grow apart. We could do the 'he said/she said' thing, but that's not us."

Garrett used his experience with alcohol to weigh in on the Mel Gibson situation (Garrett has been sober for 10 years). Garrett said "I pray for his sobriety. Booze will make you do some scary, scary things," adding jokingly "In the days when I used to drink, I would get drunk and yell out awful things about Lethal Weapon 3."

As for Mel Gibosn's anti-Semitic tirade, Garrett became serious. "No one is prouder to be a Jew than me. That being said, I think everyone should be forgiven for almost anything. I think what people do in a drunken stupor has to be addressed as someone who's drunk. Listen, there's a lot of people who are sober who hate Jews. If he wants to join that club, he can. But no one should really make an assumption until he gets help."

Brad Garrett and Jill Diven met while Diven was a cocktail waitress in the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas. In August 1998, Garrett proposed to Diven on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond, and they were married on May 18, 1999. They have two children: Max, 7, and Hope, 6.

Brad Garrett began his rise to fame by becoming the first winner of the $100,000 grand champion of the comedy category on Star Search. He went on to be one of the youngest comedians on The Tonight Show, back when it was hosted by Johnny Carson. He went on to work in Las Vegas before moving into the TV side of the entertainment industry. He's appeared in several series (both live-action, and voice-work for animates series), including Eek! The Cat, Transformers, Everybody Loves Raymond and the upcoming 'Til Death. Garrett has also been in several movies, including Casper, Jetsons: The Movie, A Bug's Life, Suicide Kings, Stuart Little 2 and Garfield.

[Additional Sources: USA Today, Wikipedia]