Inside Will Arnett And Amy Poehler's Failed Relationship

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You probably know Amy Poehler as the hilariously clueless boss from Parks and Rec, as well as her knee-slapping roles in comedies with long-time bestie, Tina Fey. And you probably know Will Arnett for his dreamy voice, featured in several animated productions (The Lego Movie, BoJack Horseman) and of course, his quirky character, Gob Bluth, in Arrested Development. Together, they made one uber hilarious pair and one could only imagine what kind of punchlines they threw around throughout their relationship. 

Unfortunately, what once may have seemed like the perfect Hollywood comedy couple split back in 2012 and filed for divorce in 2014. To fans' dismay, any glimpse of hope for the two making amends was tarnished when the item officially finalized the divorce in 2016. From the moment they met to the amicable aftermath (and everything in between), we've got the inside scoop. Here's what you should know about the tragic severance of a once tightly-tied knot between Will Arnett and Amy Poehler.

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett were introduced by friends and began dating in 2000, but Arnett claims to have had a crush on Poehler since 1996, when he first spotted her at an improv performance with Upright Citizens Brigade. According to People, Arnett admitted that Amy caught his eye that night, despite him having a girlfriend at the time. "I went with my then-girlfriend, and she was like, 'You have a crush on that girl!'" Arnett told the tab, adding, "Amy did stick out. She was fantastic and obviously really cute." The feeling was eventually mutual for Poehler, who said in the same interview that Arnett "makes [her] feel very safe."

After dating for three years, Arnett officially "kissed the bride" in 2003 and their undeniable romance even made several appearances on the big screen, per CNN. The dynamic duo has worked together on several occasions. Most notably, they played the creepy brother-and-sister villains of the 2007 Will Ferrell comedy Blades of Glory. Poehler also (unironically) played Arnett's wife in Arrested Development, and Arnett was featured as Poehler's love interest in an episode of Parks and Recreation. 

Both Will Arnett and Amy Poehler have mostly kept their lips sealed in regard to the real reasons behind their split. However, circulating rumors indicate that inside sources say the romance just "fizzled out" and that the pair felt "more like best friends" than a romantic entanglement. "The two still love each other very dearly — and everything is completely amicable — but the romance died and neither one of them was happy, so something had to be done," noted a source reported by Radar Online.

There are no readily available online reports that allude toward a messy split, infidelity, a knock-down, drag-out fight, or anything of the sort. Is it possible that the pair just "friend-zoned" each other after several years together? Fortunately, it looks like there truly are no hard feelings to be found. Another unnamed source speaking to Us Weekly claimed at the time of their separation that the split was "very amicable." Props to the couple for refraining on airing out each other's dirty laundry and keeping their private life, well, private. 

It probably took quite some time for Amy Poehler to finally open up about her feelings, because, for a long-term relationship, there's no time limit on letting the heart wounds heal. She and Will Arnett split in 2012, and Poehler finally broke her silence in the form of a memoir. Poehler wasn't afraid to unleash her raw (and arguably bottled up) feelings in her book titled Yes Please, which was released in 2014. Although she touches on the topic, she illustrates her typical rawness even further by letting her audience know that it's "too sad and too personal" to talk about. "I also don't like people knowing my [expletive]," she continues (via excerpts published by Salon).  

Vague as she attempted to remain, Poehler did write that "getting a divorce really sucks" and described the process using a metaphor (via Radar Online): "Imagine spreading everything you care about on a blanket and then tossing the whole thing up in the air," Poehler explains in her memoir. "The process of divorce is about loading up that blanket, throwing it up, watching it all spin, and worrying what stuff will break when it lands." Despite these feelings that any divorcee must begrudgingly face, Poehler holds no grudges against her ex, Arnett. She also made sure to note that she is very proud of him and brags on him as a father figure to their two children, Archie and Abel. 

Very shortly after his split from Amy Poehler, Will Arnett claimed his true source of joy in life rests outside the confines of a marriage. "I'm 43, and I've found my happiness — which is my kids," Arnett told Details (via Us Weekly).

Finding true happiness is great and all, but it's clear that Arnett may still have even an inkling of sorrow when it comes to the split. In 2020, Arnett expressed a rare candor about his divorce while defended himself against critics on fellow actor Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert. After being tagged in a tweet from a "beat reporter for a Minnesota TV station," who said she was on "Team Amy," Arnett claims, "I wanted to respond and go, 'We're human beings in a relationship and our relationship fell apart. It's heartbreaking. We have two kids, and this is not some [expletive] game.'" Yikes. Back off, haters.

As we previously noted, there wasn't much scandal associated with Amy Poehler and Will Arnett's divorce. Years later, however, Arnett told The Hollywood Reporter that he relapsed into alcohol use after years of sobriety in 2012 — the same year he and Poehler separated. Quoting that interview, Us Weekly then made the following summation: "Not surprisingly, that time perfectly correlates with the end of his marriage."

Of course, neither Arnett nor Poehler has ever indicated that addiction caused a rift in their marriage. In fact, both have been candid about their prior experimentation before they got hitched, and Poehler was explicit about how being a parent basically makes that lifestyle impossible. In her memoir,Yes  Please (via Radar Online), Poehler revealed that she experimented with cocaine and ecstasy back in the day. She also opened up about her occasional marijuana usage. But she noted, "How do you explain to a four and six-year-old that you can't play Rescue Bots because you have to spend all day in bed eating Cape Cod potato chips and watching The Bicycle Thief?" Translation: Hangovers don't work with kids around.

Our verdict on this one? Although they both opened up to the tabloids about past and present drug and alcohol use, there is no clear evidence that it played a part in their split.

During the length of their 10+ year marriage, Will Arnett and Amy Poehler created a family of four with their two sons, Archie (born in 2008) and Abel (born in 2010). Luckily, the two kiddos seem to be in good hands (on both sides) because they've been shared between their parents. According to Daily Mail, the couple filed for joint custody. Since there seems to be no tension between the pair, there's a chance that co-parenting is running smoothly for them. The Daily Mail report, which pictures a scanned version of the dissolution file, indicates that neither Arnett nor Poehler are expected to pay spousal or child support. 

Since the split is said to constitute no hard feelings, it appears that the pair is applying these amicable terms to parenthood so that they can both play a role as the boys grow up. It's possible that the exes even bring co-parenting to the next level, as some believe they quarantined together during 2020.

Amy Poehler obviously has a thing for funny guys (specifically comedians and voice actors). She "moved on" shortly after the divorce, jumping into a short-lived fling with Nick Kroll, known for his roles in Big Mouth, Sausage Party, and tons more. Poehler started dating Kroll in 2013, less than a year after her separation with Arnett (before the divorce was even finalized). According to an exclusive US Weekly report, they split in 2015 after two years of dating. "Unfortunately, they just couldn't make the relationship work with their schedules," spilled an inside source, who is close with both Kroll and Poehler.

The life of the rich and the famous definitely comes with a booked schedule, but could it be that the "busy" factor was a cover-up for Amy's residual feelings for Arnett? After all, a few months of healing doesn't seem like much for a relationship that lasted well over a decade.

It seems like both Will Arnett and Amy Poehler have moved on from each other for good. Arnett dated Alessandra Brawn for quite a while, even welcoming a child with her in June 2020, but after breaking up in 2024, the comedian began dating supermodel Carolyn Murphy.

As for Poehler, it was revealed in 2025 that she's in a relationship with Joel Lovell. He was previously an editor at places like Harper's, GQ, and New York Times Magazine. Currently, he's in the podcast game, working at Pineapple Street Studios. And that's something he and his girlfriend have in common, as Poehler is currently the host of the popular "Good Hang" podcast.

So it seems that both stars have found happiness and are doing okay, although their past does get brought up from time to time. During his promotional tour for the 2025 movie Is This Thing On?, Arnett spoke to Rolling Stone how Poehler had recently surprised him by appearing on his podcast, SmartLess. This prompted the comedian to talk about how the public perceives their dynamic, saying, "People think that they know [about our relationship]. Over the years, I've read so many opinions people have. It's [expletive] hilarious to me how much [expletive] is just made up, and they have zero idea. It's like, 'Oh, you think you know what my life is?'"