Guy Pearce opens up about coming to terms with the breakdown of his marriage
Guy Pearce has revealed he was “blindsided” when his 18-year marriage to psychologist Kate Mestitz broke down.
In a deeply personal and candid chat with Andrew Denton on Seven’s Interview on Tuesday night, the 50-year-old actor opened up about how writing songs for his album The Nomad helped him come to terms with the end of his marriage and how his life turned around when he welcomed a son with his new partner Carice Van Houten.
“I’m still, to this day, having little moments where I go, ‘Is it really real?’” Pearce said about being a dad to Monte, who turns 2 in August.
“Is it, like, he really is my child. My heart is definitely there but my head sometimes is still back there.”
Denton noted to Pearce that his album was dedicated to ex-wife Kate and asked: “What happened to your marriage?”
Pearce explained how it was Kate who told him, “Our time’s up” and that “it was incredibly strong of her to do it.”
He added: “She saw something that sort of blindsided me, a little bit, I guess. We were young, we were kids when we met. We were 12 when we met and, on some level, the way she put it, is we were probably still those little kids when we got married, too. So it was a growing apart.”
When Denton pressed if he saw it coming, Pearce honestly responded: “No. No. It was really shocking.”
The couple announced their split in October 2015, with the Australian actor telling fans at the time “Kate and I will always love and support one another and be the best of friends.”
Pearce has since moved on from his split with new partner and fellow actor Van Houten, 41.
He described falling in love six months after his marriage breakdown as coming about in “ramshackle way and before we knew it, we were having a baby.”
Denton prodded: “Were you careful not doing this as the rebound?” with Pearce honestly replying, “I think there were rebound elements to it, but we’re both mature enough to go, ‘Let’s go back and start again, meanwhile we’re having a baby, but let’s just sort of go back and start again and work out the best way to be mature and responsible about this. I’m glad we’re doing that.”
About Van Houten, Pearce said simply, “She’s divine. She’s so sweet and she’s a gorgeous mother.”
Finally a nice quiet stroll out in the world @caricevhouten pic.twitter.com/xQS7fpYvus
— Guy Pearce (@TheGuyPearce) September 21, 2016
When Denton reminded Peace that he had often said in the past that he didn’t want children, he admitted that losing his own father Stuart to a plane accident when he was eight, and then having to help raise Tracy, his sister with an intellectual disability, had coloured his view of fatherhood.
“The fact that I now have a child,” he said, “I’m madly in love with him and it’s sort of changed everything.”
“What are the advantages of being a 50-year-old dad?” Denton asked.
“Patience, and having a better understanding of myself. It’s certainly not going to be about kicking the footy in one years’ time, that’s for sure,” he quipped back.