Jack Black Fell in Love With Tanya Haden Back at School and Waited 15 Years Before Asking Her Out
Comedian Jack Black has been married since 2006. His soulmate is singer and artist Tanya Haden. In their marriage, they have 2 sons, and the celebrity father, who wasn’t ready to have a family before, adores them. But few people know that the actor needed 15 years to work up the courage to tell Tanya about his feelings. And the reason was that he was just shy.
Jack fell in love with Tanya back at school.
The young pair met during their studies at a high school in Santa Monica. This educational institution was intended for creatively gifted children — over the years, it has been attended by Zoey Deschanel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Astin, and Liv Tyler.
The triplet daughters of renowned musician Charlie Haden, Petra, Rachel, and Tanya, also entered the same school. Jack Black was 2 years older than the girls. He knew right away he had fallen in love with Tanya, but romantic relations between them never materialized. Moreover, they didn’t even become close friends — Jack was too shy to express his feelings.
Later in an interview, the actor admitted that he was afraid to even talk to Tanya. He worried that the attractive girl simply wouldn’t pay attention to him.
They parted ways after school.
Jack became a comedic actor and started dating his colleague Laura Kightlinger. She was a writer and consulting producer for the comedy series Will & Grace and occasionally appeared in it as Nurse Sheila.
Their romance lasted for 9 years. During that time, the comedians often appeared together on red carpets and their provocative behavior often gave journalists reason to grab their cameras.
Meanwhile, Tanya became a singer. The sisters decided to follow in their famous musician father’s footsteps and formed a group called The Haden Triplets.
Each of the triplets is talented in her own way. Petra played the violin, Rachel played the piano and bass guitar, and Tanya played the cello. Jack Black’s future soulmate also showed skills in drawing and became an artist.
15 years later, Jack and Tanya met again.
36-year-old Jack and 34-year-old Tanya met each other in April 2005. This meeting happened at a party held in honor of their mutual friend’s birthday. It was then that Black realized that his feelings for the girl remained the same. But this time, the actor was able to gather his courage and talk to her.
This became the starting point of their turbulent romance. At first, Jack admitted that he couldn’t stop thinking about Tanya for a minute. No matter what he did, the image of his beloved woman constantly stood before his eyes.
After Christmas, the actor decided to make an official proposal of marriage. Tanya said yes, and the couple got married in March 2006. That same year, their first son, Samuel, was born.
The actor thought he wasn’t ready to become a father.
Before marrying Tanya, Jack said in an interview that he didn’t want to have children at all. At the time, the actor was worried that taking care of babies would consume all his free time, and he would be literally tied to the house. But with the birth of Samuel, everything changed.
Jack was in such a hurry to get home to his wife and newborn son that he practically ran away from the Hollywood premiere of the movie Nacho Libre, in which he played the lead role. He told everyone present that he had become a father, and his wife and child had already returned home from the maternity hospital. And soon after the lights went out, and the movie started, Jack left the theater and hurried to his family.
In 2008, Tanya and Jack became parents again. Their youngest son is named Thomas. By that time, the actor had long forgotten his fears of fatherhood and shared that he enjoyed being at home and spending time with his wife and boys.
Now, his family is his source of energy when he prepares for new projects. The actor once said, “I love just hanging poolside with the boys, with Tanya and the boys. A day by the pool, that’s a nice day off.”
Jack and Tanya managed to create a strong family.
They love each other. But it doesn’t stop them from being active. Jack continues to act in movies and voice characters in animated films. Tanya and her sisters have released 2 albums. She also has an MFA from California Institute of the Arts, where she majored in experimental animation.
They often appear at red carpets together and attend movie premieres. They are frequently accompanied by their grown-up kids.
It’s quite possible that Samuel and Thomas will be inspired by their famous parents and will also choose creative professions. Their older son has already tried voice acting, performing the voice for the rabbit in Kung Fu Panda 3.
Both boys are trying to shoot short films. Jack said in an interview, “They both have made cool little short films on their iPhones. I’m proud of my sons.”
There’s something the actor really regrets.
Jack worries that he lost 15 whole years because he didn’t dare tell Tanya about his feelings back at school. He said, “I wish I’d had more courage to ask out Tanya Haden. I wasted 15 years waiting for my chance.”
Then, Black watched Tanya from a distance, feeling that she was his soulmate. But as a young man, he didn’t think he’d be able to create a strong family — his parents’ divorce affected him a lot.
But all his worries were in vain. Now, Tanya and Jack can’t even imagine their lives without each other, and their love is incredibly strong.