If some are predicting the demise of John Mulaney and Olivia Munn’s relationship because it started during the whirlwind of his divorce and recovery from addiction, a new report — and Munn herself — are rejecting that notion.
Page Six reported that Mulaney has switched lawyers and retained a powerhouse New York City attorney to “speed up” his divorce from Anna Marie Tendler, his wife of seven years, as Munn prepares to give birth to their baby.
“John wants to speed things up and get the divorce done,” a source told Page Six about Mulaney, 39, hiring John Teitler, the same attorney who represented Matt Lauer’s ex-wife, Annette Roque.
“He’s becoming a father, so he switched to a new law firm with a reputation of being tough and efficient,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Munn, 41, talked to “Today” host Hoda Kotb about how both she and Mulaney are thrilled to become parents.
Munn actually hasn’t said much about Mulaney in her recent interviews about impending motherhood, an issue that helped fuel a report that there was “uncertainty” in the relationship and questions about whether she would be parenting on her own.
However, the “Violet” star easily responded to Kotb’s reference to Mulaney being her boyfriend: “I know you’re excited. I imagine John’s excited. How are you guys feeling about it?”
“We’re just really excited,” Munn replied. “We talk about the same stuff: Which rocker? What kind of crib do you put the baby in? What does the baby wear?”
Munn added: “You know, honestly thank God for Instagram and Facebook and blogs, because there’s a lot of moms who put out so much information. That has been a saving grace for me. I’m really good with my dog. If it’s anything like having a dog, I can do that.”
“But I have a feeling it’s going to be much different,” she joked.
Munn also revealed in an interview this week that it’s been stressful being pregnant while her personal life is in the spotlight.
Munn also was trending on the Twitter in the past week because her last high-profile boyfriend was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been under fire for pushing unsubstantiated anti-vaccine views to justify not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
While Munn said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” that she understands the interest in celebrities’ pregnancies, she admitted that it’s different now that she’s the pregnant star of interest.
A big downside is that news of her pregnancy leaked before she was ready, Munn said.
“I think what was harder was when you have people talking about it and leaking it out there before I’m ready to talk about it,” Munn said in the interview. “Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve had four different girlfriends lose their pregnancies all after the safe zone, (one at) three months, two at four months and one at five, six months.”
Munn also shared that she has an auto-immune disorder. That, combined with her age, has added some risk to her pregnancy, she explained.
“There are a lot of elements that come into play when you’re pregnant,” Munn said. “There’s a lot of fear. You want to do everything you can to protect your baby.”
Rumors about Munn’s pregnancy began circulating over the summer, although Munn may have revealed a slight baby bump as early as May 2 when she wore a billowing gold jacket to the Global Citizen Vax Live concert.
Mulaney confirmed Munn’s pregnancy during a September appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” The former “Saturday Night Live” writer also confirmed that he and Munn were dating while he described his rollercoaster year. He claimed that he and the glamorous “Newsroom” star began dating some time after he finished another stint in rehab in February.
As if things couldn’t get any more complicated, the romance blossomed as Mulaney was ending his marriage to Tendler, an artist, and as he was leaving rehab for the second time, Mulaney added.
“She held my hand through that (latest post-rehab) hell, and … we are having a baby together,” a giddy Mulaney said about Munn. “We’re both really, really happy.”
Mulaney told Meyers that he “moved out” of his home with Tendler in October 2020, when he ended his first stint in rehab. However, there have been questions about Mulaney’s professed timeline for his romance with Munn. Page Six reported that Mulaney didn’t file for divorce from Tendler until February, the same month he left rehab for the second time.
An Us Weekly report last month also offered a less rosy take on the health of Mulaney and Munn’s relationship, saying the couple face lots of “uncertainty.”
An insider told Us Weekly: “This has been an imperfect relationship from the start. Even though Olivia’s going to be a wonderful mother and has great support behind her, Olivia’s friends just don’t see these two being a couple in a year’s time.”
Any “uncertainty” perhaps shouldn’t be surprising given that Mulaney admitted that the romance blossomed as he was recovering from his second drug relapse in less than a year.
The Us Weekly source went on to note that the pair will definitely “make great parents,” but as of now, “nobody knows yet if they’re going to do that together or apart.”
According to the source, Mulaney and Munn might not even co-parent, a pro-child arrangement that many estranged celebrity couples say they strive for.
“Olivia and John still have to decide what kind of future they’re going to have together, if any. It’s a time of uncertainty, for both of them,” the insider said.
Whatever is going on with Mulaney and Munn — as a couple or separately — such uncertainty isn’t surprising to anyone familiar with the emotional ups and downs of addiction and recovery.
Indeed, Mulaney was ignoring a well-known recommendation for people in recovery by jumping into a new relationship with Munn so soon after leaving rehab.
The recommendation is that newly sober single alcoholics and addicts shouldn’t date or launch new relationships for at least a year. That’s because the first year of sobriety is highly challenging, experts say. A new relationship can temporarily mask underlying issues a recovering addict needs to address and distract from the mental and emotional focus needed for recovery.
Because people in early recovery also aren’t stable emotionally, their new relationships can be potentially volatile, which could trigger a relapse, experts say.
