Eva Amurri Martino shared the heartbreaking details of her and estranged husband Kyle Martino’s conversation with their kids when they announced their plans to divorce.
The actress, 34, and the NBC Sports analyst, 38, consulted a social worker to learn how to best deliver the news. “The tip here is to present this big decision as a very tough but important decision for the family, and one that has already been made by the two of you,” she wrote in a blog post on her website, Happily Eva After. “It is also important to be clear so that there isn’t room for interpretation. I.e, it will not change, no matter what the kids say.”
Eva admitted that it was difficult to keep her emotions at bay. “This is one of the hardest monologues I have ever had to get through,” she explained. “Saying it was an out of body experience, and I had tears coming down my face the entire time. Kyle took half and I took half of this speech, and we practiced ahead of time together. It’s OK if you cry. Acknowledge that the tears are there because this is hard and sad.”
The Saved! star did not divulge specifics of how her children took the news. “For my kids’ privacy, I will keep their reaction to our conversation private. I will say that it was as awful as I worried it would be, and some parts were even worse,” she confessed. “We talked for about twenty minutes all together. Thankfully, we had gotten some good advice about dealing with the reaction. We were told that no matter what our kids said, it was important to validate their feelings, to tell them how much we love them, and that we are a family no matter what.”
She continued: “We also experienced some refusal about our decision. We told the kids that we heard them, but that Mommy and Daddy thought a lot about this decision and we decided that’s what’s best. We reinforced over and over that our love for them will never change and that we will continue to all see each other a lot, and be together as a family during the big moments. We hugged our kids a lot. There was crying. … [We reiterated] that this transition is to help Mom and Dad be as happy as possible.”
Eva revealed that she and Kyle “played an hour-long game of Hide And Seek as a family” before reading books and completing the children’s bathtime routines together.
“After they were asleep, Kyle and I both fell apart a bit. The stress and anxiety of gearing up for that conversation had taken so much out of both of us- but it was transformative for our relationship in so many ways,” she wrote. “It felt empowering that the people we care most about in the world know our truth now, and that we got through the hardest obstacle together. It really set the tone for our co-parenting relationship moving forward, and we continue to tackle the scary obstacles together, especially the emotional ones.”
Eva and Kyle tied the knot in October 2011. They are parents of daughter Marlowe, 5, and son Major, 3. The Mothers and Daughters star announced in September that they are expecting their third child together.
The Undateable alum shared the news of their split via Instagram in November.
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