Fred Armisen and Natasha Lyonne’s relationship ended, but he still views the romance as a success.
“I had a girlfriend for seven years recently, Natasha, and I was with her for a long time,” Armisen, 57, said on the Tuesday, July 9, episode of David Duchovny’s “Fail Better” podcast with Lemonada Media. “I felt like it was a successful relationship.”
Armisen explained that he “liked the feeling” of his and Lyonne’s relationship and how their dynamic was different compared to his past connections. While the pair called it quits in 2022, the Saturday Night Live alum shared that ending on good terms with Lyonne, 45, showed signs of growth and maturity.
“That ended well and, like, we’re still friends. It made me feel like it was part of getting older that I could approach being in a relationship in a different way,” he reflected. “I can look back at that relationship with a sort of peaceful happiness, and that’s how it was.”
While Armisen is aware many people wouldn’t consider a relationship ending in a breakup to be an accomplishment, he views it differently since everyone’s situation is unique.
“As I get older I see so many couples I know break up. I don’t mean that in a negative or a cynical way,” he noted. “It makes me go, life is like this, there’s different versions of relationships and different versions of success. What’s great is that it just calms everything down.”
Lyonne and Armisen began dating in 2014 after being introduced by mutual pal Maya Rudolph. The pair went on to date until 2022 when the Russian Doll actress announced their breakup.
“I had been [in Los Angeles] living with Fred and during COVID. I honestly think we broke up because I wanted a swimming pool,” Lyonne, told The Hollywood Reporter in an April 2022 profile. “We love each other just about as much as two people can love each other and we’re still talking all the time, but Freddy doesn’t like a swimming pool.”
She continued: “It might seem like a mundane reason for a breakup, but during that pandemic, you’ve got to get your laps — I’m like Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer. So, I got myself a house with a pool out in Los Angeles. So that’s the real scandal. I guess I finally am an actual bicoastal.”
Despite their split, the twosome remain friends. When Lyonne hosted SNL for the first time in May 2022, Arimsen was by her side for the monologue.
“You know, Freddie and I, we dated for seven years,” Lyonne joked to the audience. “Yeah, we’re the only couple who had a sex tape nobody wanted to buy.”
