Saturday Night Live star Heidi Gardner shared the first details about her split from husband Zeb Wells.
“Sadly, I went through the end of a relationship, which it feels weird to say end because I also know that person will always be in my life and it will transform in a different way,” Gardner, 40, revealed during a recent appearance on “The Liz Moody Podcast,” without discussing Wells by name.
“You know, sending them all the, like, love and respect in the world that I still have for them. But it was just a couple-year period of transition and grief and hope and loss and all of those things,” she continued. “But I will say that during that time I feel like I never wasted a day in getting to know myself, becoming a better version of myself and becoming a better friend and future partner I think.”
Gardner and Wells, a Marvel Comics writer and voice actor, tied the knot in 2010. The former couple met in 2009, when she was a member of the Los Angeles-based sketch comedy group The Groundlings.
The SNL star said the entire experience was “very painful and uncomfortable,” but there were some positive aspects.
“I will say the biggest thing I learned in that time is lean on the women in your life and your girlfriends,” Gardner said during the January podcast episode. “I already had amazing friends and family, but I will just say that women showed up in such an incredible way and showed me that in future relationships, my romantic partner, I learned does not need to be my emotional rock.”
She went on to say that the women she’s surrounded by “know better things to say” and are able to “take care” of her in the darker moments.
“We all know, no matter what kind of relationships, they’re up and down with your partner. One day, you are gonna love them more than anything and you’re gonna be praising them to your friends,” Gardner added. “And on some days, they’re gonna feel like your worst enemy and you’re gonna be cursing them to your friends.”
Gardner did not speak often about her marriage, however, the comedian did share how nabbing a gig on SNL in 2017 changed her relationship with Wells.
“We live in New York now, which is kind of a huge difference. We had both been in L.A. even before we met each other. So, we had gotten used to that,” she shared in a 2019 interview, in part. “And we both moved to L.A. when we would be considered young and dumb, and you just have to figure it all out. You forget how even just a move can be traumatic.”
