Sara Gilbert Had Been Married for 6 Years to Ex-wife Who Was Still in Love When They Split

For years Sara Gilbert acted as a straight girl and then woman on "Roseanne." However, she ended up coming out as a lesbian and married her first wife, Linda Perry, but the union sadly ended in divorce.

Sara Rebecca Abeles, born on January 29, 1975, at St. John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, California, now goes by Sara Gilbert. She became interested in acting when she saw her half-sister, Melissa Gilbert, receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at age six.

In 1984, Sara starred in several commercials and played a role in the film "Calamity Jane," which led her to adopt the Gilbert family name. She eventually found success in 1988 with a role as seemingly straight girl Darlene Conner on "Roseanne."

Conner had a boyfriend, played by Johnny Galecki, and even married him on the show where she starred for nine years. Besides the sitcom, Sara also did the voice for Laura Powers in 1989's "The Simpsons."

She also appeared in several films, including 1990's "Sudie and Simpson," 1992's "Poison Ivy," and 1999's "Light It Up." In later years she starred in the series "Atypical," and "Roseanne" reboot, "The Conners," plus she helped co-host "The Talk" for years.

REALIZING HER SEXUALITY

Generally, people thought Sara was straight until she came out as gay. In September 2013, during an emotional episode of "The Talk," the co-hosts confessed their secrets for the show's segment.

Sara noted how she'd dated Galecki for a while when she was a teenager. She confessed that she'd thought he was cute and had a crush on him before they started dating, but when they were together, things changed, with her stating:

“He would come over, and we would make out, and then I would start to get depressed."

Sara thought Galecki would feel bad about her feelings and started taking it personally because he didn't know what was happening. She eventually told him that she suspected it had to do with her sexuality, and her boyfriend was sweet about it.

COMING OUT

In July 2010, the star came out as a lesbian, and it was revealed at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles. On "The Talk," Sara said being out was something new.

She explained that she wasn't an expert about it and hadn't analyzed her sexuality as she was living her life. The actress said she planned to continue working on the talk show and acting if her coming out wasn't a problem.

She explained she never thought of things as being in or out because she was just who she was. Sara said when appropriate topics came up; she was willing to address them when the time was right.

WHY OMIT PARTNER'S NAME

Just the week before Sara came out, CBS sent out the press release about the talk show and mentioned the husbands of the rest of the hosts. When it came to Sara, strangely, only her children were mentioned.

The television star explained that her then-girlfriend, Allison Adler, wasn't mentioned because she asked CBS not to. Sara felt the talk show was focused on motherhood and parenting and not on their personal lives.

She said now that she'd come out, she would discuss her personal life a bit more. The star didn't want to announce her sexuality in a CBS press release because it felt impersonal, and she wanted to do it herself.

METTING HER WIFE

In January 2012, Linda Perry told E! News that it was awesome being with Sara. She confessed that she hadn't expected that she and the actress would date, but they had an instant connection when they met.

The singer-songwriter explained how they were alike but different, and somehow that worked. At the time, Sara and Perry had been dating for eight months and were going on their ninth one but weren't living together.

The former 4 Non-Blondes frontwoman now also works as a producer. She's also worked on the music for a Broadway musical based on "To Die For," which was Gus Van Sant's 1995 movie.

PERRY'S PROPOSAL

In April 2013, Sara shared on "The Talk" how Perry surprised her with a romantic proposal over a picnic in the park. While the pair were eating, a guy was playing the guitar and started playing the couple's song.

The actress thought that was weird but welcomed it until the song finished and Perry said she was going to ask the musician to play another song they knew. Surprisingly, the musician knew the track.

Suddenly, the other picnickers started pulling out string instruments from under blankets and walked over to Sara and Perry and played the Cure's "Love Song." Then Perry pulled out T-shirts that spelled out, "Will you marry me?"

The singer then presented the talk show host a ring. Perry asked Sara to turn around only to find their mothers and a couple of friends standing by, then another guy walks up and gets introduced as John Waite, and he starts playing "Missing You."

THE WEDDING

The couple stayed engaged for 11 months and married on March 30, 2014. The wedding was held in Malibu, California's One Gun Ranch, starting with a cocktail party and boasting a vegan menu.

Sara was surprised during the ceremony when her fiancée got on stage and sang John Lennon's "Love." The couple got married by someone who got flown in last minute because the official one got sick that morning and couldn't make it.

THE SEPARATION

On December 27, 2019, Sara sadly filed for legal separation from her wife after five years. She listed their date of separation as August 13, 2019, and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.

It appeared the former couple [Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry] might’ve been quarantining against the pandemic together.

In January 2020, Perry spoke to Page Six about her relationship with Sara while at the Art of Elysium Gala at the Hollywood Palladium. Speaking sincerely about her relationship, the producer said:

“You have to look at life as life, and things happen. I’m still on an incredible adventure with Sara. I love her. I adore her.”

The singer said they had two beautiful children together, one being Rhodes Emilio Gilbert-Perry, who was welcomed in 2015, and that journey hadn't ended. Perry felt their path together had just evolved into something else.

DIVORCE AND CHILD CUSTODY

The divorce was finalized on October 15, 2021, two years after the couple's separation. Both stars received joint legal custody of their son and had to co-parent him together.

ABOUT SON & SARA AND LINDA'S RELATIONSHIP NOW

Rhodes was born on February 28, 2015, and during an episode of "The Talk," a photo of the boy was shared with the audience. Besides Rhodes, Sara also had two other children, Levi and Sawyer, whom she shares with her ex Alison Adler.

In April 2015, Sara shared another image of her newborn baby on Instagram where he was seen sleeping. She shared another sleeping photo of a much older Rhodes in September 2020. For their part, in May 2020, Perry and Sara were seen on an outing with their son in Los Angeles.