Jeff Tietjens & Aisha Tyler Had No Kids in Their 22 Years of Marriage

Former football player Jeff Tietjens and comedian Aisha Tyler met as students, forming a bond that carried them through over twenty years of marriage. Mid-2010, the long-time couple realized they wanted different things in life.

Aisha Tyler's ex-husband, Jeff Tietjens, has not been seen much since their public divorce, but then, he was not seen that much in their decades-long relationship at public events either.

The former couple went through challenging obstacles, such as law school, the pressures of the entertainment industry, and the painful decision not to become parents. The actress said she cried for six months, usually while driving to work after the split.

Jeff Tietjens Was Aisha Tyler's College Sweetheart Who "Cared" for Her the Longest

Tietjens spent his childhood in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, enrolling at a private all-boys high school, LaSalle College, a few miles away. Weighing in at 245 lbs, he played offensive tackle for the Dartmouth College football team from his sophomore year in 1988 until 1990.

Taylor met the football player while attending the private Ivy League institution in Hanover, New Hampshire. The college paramours got married after graduation in the early '90s. Tietjens is a graduate of Loyola Law School and passed the California State Bar in 2000.

The "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host said in 2017 that he is the person that has influenced and cared for her the most, "In fact, he cared for me even longer than my parents have cared for me."

Jeff Tietjens & His Ex-Wife Gave up on Having Children

During a segment of "The Talk" in September 2014, Taylor revealed to her co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osborne, and Julie Chen that she and her husband underwent painful and unsuccessful fertility treatments.

She said that Tietjens probably cried more than she did when he had to give her the injections. It was hard for the "Criminal Minds" actress to accept that they would not be able to conceive because she loved her partner so much and believed he would be a good father.

The college sweethearts reached a financial settlement in December.

They decided as a couple to end the "torture" of fertility treatments. The actress told Gilbert she loved the idea of adoption, but the wounds of the failed treatments were still fresh.

Tyler spoke openly about her decision to prioritize her career over family in 2015, insisting it was a valid choice that was not something anyone should feel embarrassed or regretful about. "It's one that I've embraced fully," she added.

In the same breath, the actress said that though there is a "clock ticking on the pregnancy thing," there are no such constraints on adoption.

Jeff Tietjens Went on with His Private Life after Receiving $2 Million in Spousal Support

The Dartmouth alums' marriage of over twenty years ended with their separation in January 2015. Tietjens filed for divorce at the L.A. Superior Court in April 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. He did not request spousal support in the initial filing but reserved the right to amend this later.

The star's rep Lisa Morbete told TMZ that the exes would remain friends, a sentiment Taylor confirmed months later, saying that she would always love him. The college sweethearts reached a financial settlement in December of that year. The talk show host agreed to pay her estranged spouse $31,250 per month for four years, totaling $1.5 million.

In addition, she took on his $500,000 life insurance policy payments until the end of 2020. The divorce was granted in May 2017, upholding their earlier settlement. The couple needed to divide their assists and property like the Hollywood Hills house sold the previous summer.

Shortly afterward, Tyler addressed the split, "I don't, not in any way, see this relationship as a failure. We loved each other passionately, lived life fully, and we're trying to let each other go in the kindest way we possibly can."