Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower's relationship explored as actor’s ex sells Central Park West home

Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower’s relationship has been garnering media attention again nearly 7 years after the couple filed for divorce in 2018. Robert De Niro’s former relationship came back into focus after his ex-wife Grace Hightower sold the Central Park West home in which she and De Niro lived together when they were married.

De Niro and Hightower’s divorce proceedings involved a conflict about the settlement entitled to Hightower. Page Six reported that the former couple’s attorneys disagreed on how much money and assets Hightower was owed as De Niro’s ex-spouse. As per the report, Hightower asked for “half of his ‘$500 million’ fortune,” while De Niro’s attorney insisted that the actor’s prenuptial agreement ensured that Hightower would only receive an apartment, $500,000 aside from annual alimony payments.

Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower’s relationship history

According to People Magazine, De Niro had been in a relationship with Hightower since the late 1980s. However, the couple did not get married at the time.

It was in 1997, almost a decade after they had known each other, that De Niro and Hightower exchanged their vows. They were married for 21 years from 1997 to 2018.

This period was not without its conflicts though, as per the People Magazine report. In the late 90s, the couple briefly separated and planned to co-parent their son, Elliot.

News about De Niro and Hightower’s separation became public in the early 2000s when the couple got into a serious custody battle over their son. The separation and ensuing custody battle did not end up in a divorce though. Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower decided to give their marriage a second chance.

The couple renewed their commitment to each other when they took the wedding vows again in a ceremony attended by friends. This ceremony took place in 2004 at the Catskills, and the attendees included celebrities from Hollywood. It was reported that two judges were also present at the ceremony who officiated the event, according to another People Magazine report.

Though they have been private about their relationship, the couple appeared together frequently at film events. During these years, Hightower worked as a publicist for De Niro.

In 2011, the couple welcomed their second child together, a daughter named Helen Grace.

The couple were last seen together publicly at the 72nd Annual Tony Awards in New York City. Five months later, De Niro and Hightower announced their divorce. Speaking about the split, he had told People Magazine,

“Grace and I have two beautiful children together. We are entering a period of transition in our relationship which is a difficult but constructive process.”

Robert De Niro had also requested his fans to honor his and his ex-wife’s privacy.

About the former couple’s Central Park apartment

The Central Park apartment, which Hightower sold recently, is 6000 square feet in size. It is a duplex apartment which owes its immense size to a renovation which joined adjacent apartments.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Hightower listed the apartment for sale back in May 2024. It was listed for $20 million, slightly less than what the couple had paid for the apartment when they had bought it in 2006.

According to the New York Post, the house needed a lot of renovations after there had been a fire incident back in 2012. At the time, the couple had been living in the apartment and had to leave the house in an emergency when the fire incident occurred.

As per the same report, the house was connected to the movie industry even before Robert De Niro and his former wife had purchased it. It was earlier owned by the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.