Actor’s Wife Files for Divorce 1 Day Before Thanksgiving

Heavy Divorce papers

The wife of actor Eric McCormack, known for the hit series “Will & Grace” and a star of Hallmark movies including September’s “Guiding Emily,” filed for divorce on November 22, 2023, according to multiple outlets including TMZ.

The couple has been seen in public holding hands and looking happy together multiple times this year. But on the day before Thanksgiving in the U.S., Janet Holden filed legal documents to end their 26-year marriage.

Here’s what you need to know:

Eric McCormack & Janet Holden Have Made Multiple Public Appearances in 2023

GettyEric McCormack and Janet Holden attend the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 31st Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 12, 2023

In legal documents filed at the Superior Court of California, according to The Blast, Holden cited  “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for her split from McCormack.

In the filing, the outlet reported, Holden requested spousal support and for McCormack to pay her legal fees. She also asked that the court decide who gets what in the divorce, formally requesting that it “determine rights to community and quasi-community assets and debts” and confirm their separate properties and assets.

McCormack met Holden in 1994 when he began filming “Lonesome Dove: The Series” in Canada, according to People. Holden was the show’s assistant director, but they kept their relationship secret since she supervised the actors. After the first season, however, she moved on to other work and the couple made their public debut at the series’ 1995 wrap party.

The two married in August 1997 and have one son, Finnigan, who’s 21, according to The Daily Mail. 

In March, McCormack and Holden held hands on the red carpet at the 31st Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party. Inside the event, Getty captured photos of the two happily posing with famous friends, including one in which Holden draped her arms over her husband’s shoulders.

The Daily Mail also reported that the couple was seen looking happy together at the July 24 opening night after-party for his Broadway comedy “The Cottage,” which he starred in from July until the show closed in late October.

In 2016, while promoting his Hallmark movie “A Heavenly Christmas,” McCormack told Hallmark Channel that the holidays are a big deal for his family, and especially for Holden.

“Christmas is a big deal for my wife,” he said. “All the trappings. So in the 30 days leading up to Christmas, we get a tree (and) my wife has this Christmas town that’s gotten bigger and bigger over the years and now takes up most of our living room. (There’s) a train that runs through it. It’s quite amazing.”

Eric McCormack Has Had a Very Busy 2023

On the same day Holden filed for divorce, McCormack posted an Instagram photo of himself appearing on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” that day to discuss his Hulu movie, “The Other Black Girl,” and his re-watch podcast with “Will and Grace” co-star Sean Hayes, which they released a new episode of on Thanksgiving morning. McCormack wore his wedding ring during the interview.

It’s been a busy year for McCormack. In addition to his Broadway show, TV movies and his new podcast, he starred in a limited run of “A Little Night Music” at Koerner Hall in Toronto in May, featuring an ensemble cast that included “The Way Home” actress Sadie Laflamme-Snow.

Days ahead of Holden’s divorce filing, McCormack shared that he’d been in Boston and Washington D.C. to serve as the guest interviewer of Rush’s Geddy Lee, who’s on a book tour at theaters across the U.S.

“I got to celebrate one of my musical heroes, Geddy Lee of the immortal @rush, and his wonderful #autobiography #myeffinlife,” he wrote. “Even surprised him with a little Madrigal… and the Boston crowd sang along.”