Anthony Anderson and his wife, Alvina Stewart, were previously heading for divorce. However, Stewart asked a judge to dismiss her divorce petition. The two have been married for two decades and were high school sweethearts.
Anderson is currently the star of ABC‘s Black-ish, which airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Stewart & Anderson Were Separated ‘For Some Time’ Before She filed for Divorce in September 2015
Alvina Stewart, Anthony Anderson, their children Kyra and Nathan, and Anderson’s mother Doris Hancox. (Getty)
In September 2015, TMZ confirmed that Stewart had filed for divorce from Anderson, citing “irreconcilable differences.” She listed their date of separation as April 1, 2014 and asked for spousal support. She planned on giving Anderson “reasonable visitation” rights to see their two children, Kyra Anderson and Nathan Anderson.
“Yes, the divorce papers are public record and they have been separated for some time now,” Anderson’s rep told E! News.
On January 3, 2017, well over a year after filing for divorce, Stewart asked a judge to dismiss her divorce petition.
Now, the couple seems to be going strong. Just last week, Anderson and Stewart posed together at the 2019 Emmy Awards, where Anderson was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
2. Anderson Uses Social Media to Bond with Kyra & Nathan
The Anderson family at Disney World in 2010. (Getty)
Anderson and Stewart are parents to two children: daughter Kyra, 23, and son Nathan, 19.
In August 2016, Anderson and his children posed for pictures for People Magazine without their mother. The actor said that he uses social media to connect with his children.
“We make memes and Snapchats, Instagram posts and all that on the 101,” Anderson told People. “But we were doing that responsibly! I was the cameraman, and my son’s hands were on the 10 and 2.”
Anderson’s son, Nathan is following his dad into showbiz. He has his own IMDb page, which lists appearances in the 2015 Richie Rich series. He was also in the “Jacked o’ Lantern” episode of Black-ish in 2015.
Speaking on The Rachael Ray show last year, Anderson shared that he wanted to cast his son in black-ish. Anderson shared, “My son is a young, talented actor, following in my footsteps… Has a new show that’s going to be on Netflix with Rev Run. They’re starting in January, and he’s going to play Rev Run’s son.” He continued, “I wanted him to be Andre Jr. on ‘Black-ish,’ but my son’s cool factor… You know, he just has a little too much swag, and I don’t know where he gets it from. I sometimes question if he’s mine or not. His swag factor is just off the charts! And we needed him not to be goofy, but just be a nerdy kid, and he couldn’t shake that. And so I couldn’t cast him!”
3. Stewart Is an ‘Avid Gym Rat’ Who Inspired Anderson to Get Healthy
Anthony Anderson in December 2016. (Getty)
After Anderson was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the actor decided that he needed to get his life under control. He felt a duty to his family to start living a healthy lifetstyle. In a 2013 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Anderson said that his wife and children inspire him to do better.
“My wife’s become an avid gym rat, and she inspires me. My children are fit too and also help me keep going,” Anderson told the Times.
Anderson said that one of the biggest changes he made was working with the same nutritionist who helped Al Roker. He ended up losing so much weight that the Law & Order production team needed to make a new wardrobe for him.
“Back in L.A., I joined a gym, got a trainer and worked out three times a week lifting weights, and I kept up the treadmill as well,” Anderson told the Times in 2013. “I weigh 222 now, that’s 46 pounds of weight loss, and my blood sugars are getting better and some of my medications have been reduced.”
4. Anderson Said That the ‘Best Sex I’ve Ever Had’ Was With His Wife
Anthony Anderson in October 2016. (Getty)
In a December 2016 interview with Elle Magazine, Anderson referred to Stewart as his “ex-wife.” While he was discussing a potential black star for ABC’s The Bachelor, Elle’s Mickey Rapkin told Anderson, “A friend once told me the first time he had sex after his divorce, it was incredible.”
“I’d rather not get into that,” Anderson replied. “My ex-wife might be reading this and be like, ‘What, motherf—? Oh, really? That’s how it was?’ We’re in a good place now.”
Anderson later told Rapkin, “But I will admit the best sex I’ve ever had has been with my wife.”
In that same interview, Anderson shared his view on how to date.
“Flip the script,” he told Elle. “Hop in the car and point it in a direction that it’s never been in before and just drive. ‘What are we going to do?’ I don’t know, let’s go jump in the ocean. ‘I don’t have a bathing suit.’ Well, nobody’s around. Let’s skinny-dip. Who cares?”
5. Anderson & Stewart Try to Keep Their Kids Grounded, So He Can’t Spoil Them
Anderson and Stewart try to give their children normal lives, despite their father’s fame. In an April 2015 interview with Yahoo Parenting, Anderson said he can’t let himself spoil Kyra and Nathan.
“I grew up in Compton, Los Angeles so [when I became an actor] I overcompensated because of my background…I wanted to give [my children] everything I didn’t have. But I can’t spoil my kids,” Anderson explained to Yahoo. “I had to say, ‘Wait a minute — am I creating a monster? I can’t keep freely giving you things.’ My kids have schoolwork, community service, and chores. We recently put together packages at the post office for soldiers overseas.”
In that same interview, he said Nathan told him when he was 8 years old that he wanted to be an actor. As for Kyra, she wants to earn a PhD and is studying at the University of San Diego.
“My daughter is a freshman at the University of San Diego and wants her PhD so she can run non-profits and save the world,” Anderson told Yahoo. “But in her early teens, she was a spoiled brat — we were staying in a hotel once and she was complaining that there was no room service. I told her, ‘This is what you were born into. These gifts are because of my hard work.’”
READ NEXT: Why Is Leslie Jones Leaving ‘SNL’?