Even when announcing that she'd split from "Stuck" director Thaddaeus Scheel, Marcia Gay Harden refrained from disclosing why. In an interview with The Saturday Evening Post, she revealed that this decision was intentional. The divorce came at a time when her mother, Beverly, was actively battling Alzheimer's after being diagnosed in 2007. Dealing with such a devastating ailment, it seemed easier to be cordial with one another, especially with their kids watching. Even with a brave face, Harden admitted that the divorce was agonizing. 

"My ex-husband knew that our break-up was very painful to me. I always saw people who loved each other, but when the marriage fell apart, they forgot that they loved each other and turned it into hatred for the rest of their lives. But I realized it just doesn't make any sense if you're a parent. Try to remember what you loved and move on. Forgiving is a powerful thing to do, but it didn't mean that I wasn't in pain," she told the outlet.

Through the turmoil, Harden found solace in her dear friend, the late actor James Gandolfini, whom she worked with on the "God of Carnage" production. According to Harden, it was Gandolfini who helped her talk to her children about the separation before his death in 2013. He would frequently check on her, offering advice from his own divorce.