Lainey sent me a text before I saw the Jessica Alba story but wasn’t super surprised to hear it. There haven’t been a lot signs one way or another but it’s more the shift that seems to be happening in Jessica Alba’s life, a common theme for women in their 40s.
In the spring of 2024, she stepped down from The Honest Company, her professional home of 12 years. Her pivot to The Honest Company was such a big deal even as it felt like every actress was launching multiple companies, clothing line, shoe lines, perfumes, home goods – it was never ending. She headed that company for years, through lawsuits over products and a failed acquisition by Unilever, to build a brand that is still widely recognizable.
But part of what necessitated her pivot to businesswoman had a lot to do with her career. Jessica Alba’s fame has always been bigger than her resume. There was Dark Angel and the Fantastic Four and stuff like Good Luck Chuck but acting hasn’t been the focal part of her career for years. Years ago, there were long-standing rumours that she was difficult on set and unpleasant to work with (though, with what we know now about how actresses are often treated, maybe she just didn’t like creepy producers hanging around her trailer).
Back to the recent news and how it dropped. It’s mid-week, which is not the Friday night special. There are devastating wildfires in LA so news is focussed elsewhere. We are just coming off Christmas break and there was tons of Blake Lively lawsuit news and the Golden Globes. Also, they have school-age children and this is the first week back (although all school has been suspended now in LA). So why a Wednesday?
Reading the TMZ story (which was first out of the gate), they are reportedly separated and on their way to divorce. For TMZ, this is not the usual way – they are usually first with legal documents, not speculation. The story features a deep dive into ring watch, which is also not usually their style. TMZ’s pipeline is publicists, law firms, police departments and such. While we may not always agree with their tactics, their accuracy on news items like divorce and death is quite high. PEOPLE also posted a story referring to TMZ, but PEOPLE wouldn’t run it without off-the-record confirmation. PEOPLE then followed up three hours later with a “why” story, with sources explaining it is not a contentious split. Three hours between those stories makes me think that this isn’t how Jessica wanted the story to break at all, but TMZ got tipped off and there wasn’t any way around it.
Less than a week ago, she posted a family photo celebrating a birthday (which probably doesn’t confirm things one way or another). She’s also starring in a new film with Michele Morrone, which filmed in Italy last month. TMZ posted a photo of her dinner with producer Andrea Iervolino and I did wonder about this photo choice because there are plenty of photos to choose from. But colleagues go for dinner all the time, especially when filming on location, so let’s put a pin in that one.
Right now, there isn’t even a divorce, just an expectation that there will be a divorce. It’s like going to a party and chatting with a couple who you don’t really see a lot and thinking hmmm something is off there and waiting for the group chat to confirm what you think might be coming.
Here’s Jessica Alba out for a hike the other day in LA.
