Ethan Hawke Made One Promise to His Kids After the Uma Thurman Split — And He Kept It

Ethan Hawke is not interested in relitigating his divorce in public — and honestly, good. In a new interview, he explained how he tried to steer clear of turning a family breakup into a press tour, especially with two young kids watching.

What he said this time

Speaking to The Sunday Times in a piece published November 20, Hawke — who has lived through more than his share of headlines since the early 2000s split from Uma Thurman — made it clear that the public part is the accelerant, not the fire.

'The public eye is like gasoline, but what makes divorce hard is the stuff that makes it hard for everyone — the family elements, how to help the kids through it.'

He also admitted he envies people who manage a clean, friendly breakup. That tracks.

The vow he made to his kids

Hawke said his focus was keeping things as steady as possible for his children, Maya (27) and Levon (23). His solution: he promised them he would not talk about the divorce in public. He knows every word can get chewed up and spat back out by the internet, and he did not want to feed that machine at his kids' expense.

How Thurman handled it

Back in 2006, Thurman told Parade that she would not say anything negative about her kids' father and that keeping the peace mattered more than scoring points in the press. Translation: same approach, same priority — the children.

Where things landed

Since the divorce, both have largely stuck to that policy. No sniping, no messy back-and-forth, just a quiet, mostly cordial public front.

• Interview: The Sunday Times, published November 20
• Hawke's angle: keep the divorce private, for the kids' sake
• The promise: do not discuss the split publicly
• Kids: Maya Hawke (27) and Levon Hawke (23)
• Thurman's stance (2006): avoid saying anything critical about Hawke, keep the peace

It is a simple move, but a rare one in celebrity land: treat a public breakup like a private family issue. Imagine that.