Ali Wong finalized her divorce from Justin Hakuta earlier this year.
But you won’t be reading about the split on any of the scandal-obsessed tabloid sites.
That’s because Ali and Justin have managed to maintain their friendship and their healthy co-parenting relationship in the months since their split.
Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta attend HBO’s Official 2016 Emmy After Party at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Ali Wong Explains Her ‘Unconventional’ Divorce
Ali’s latest standup special just dropped on Netflix, and the material has sparked a renewed interest in her amicable split with Justin.
“We’ve been through so much together. It’s a very unconventional divorce,” Ali explained to Vanity Fair in March.
She went on to tell the outlet that she planned to use the special to explore her divorce and her feelings about re-entering the world of dating.
Justin Hakuta and Actor Ali Wong attend the World Premiere of Disney’s “RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET” at the El Capitan Theatre on November 5, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
“I’m still workshopping it, but the bones are there and it came to me very fast,” Ali said at the time.
“This is the first hour I’m doing since I started where I’m single. I think we’re going to call it the Single Lady tour.”
The Cost of Comedy
Ali added that she feels as though the material in her last special may have hastened the demise of her eight-year marriage.
In that hour, she joked that she, “too, was once free” but “like an idiot, I asked this dude to ask me to go to prison. And now I’m in monogamy jail and I don’t know how to get out.”
Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta attend the Premiere Of Netflix’s “Always Be My Maybe” at Regency Village Theatre on May 22, 2019 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
Ali explained that people are reading a little too much into her jokes, adding, “I can’t help that. Not really.”
Breaking the News
While her divorce might have been smoother than most, Ali admits that there were some difficult moments.
“I did not expect the announcement to be so widespread, but by far the hardest part about getting divorced was my mother’s reaction,” she explained.
“I had told her before that I thought we might get divorced, and she was really upset. She looked me in the eye and asked, ‘Can you just wait until I die?’ She was literally asking me to not live a life for myself. But she’s 82, what do I expect?”
Ali Wong, winner of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie and Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series for “Beef,” poses in the press room during the 75th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP)
The Happiest of Endings
But despite the challenges of the past year, Ali seems to be in a very good place these days.
She recently won two Emmys for her work on the acclaimed Netflix series Beef. And she took that opportunity to express her gratitude to Justin.
“I really need to thank the father of my children and my best friend, Justin, for all of your love and support,” Ali said in her acceptance speech. “It’s because of you that I’m able to be a working mother.”
Bill Hader and Ali Wong attend the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 14, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
These days, Ali is dating fellow comic Bill Hader.
Insiders say the relationship is serious, but both parties are in favor of moving slowly — which makes sense.
After all, Ali and Bill both have kids from previous marriages. And clearly, neither wants to do anything that might jeopardize their amicable relationships with their previous partners.
Ali Wong’s Divorce Why She Calls It An ‘Unconventional’ Split was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.