Post Split, Matthew Settle Focuses on Daughter

Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

Amid the gossip and rumors about the state of his marriage, Gossip Girl star Matthew Settle confirms that he and his wife Naama Nativ have separated.

“It’s true and we are working on that,” the actor told PEOPLE at Tuesday’s G-Star Raw runway fashion show in New York. “Things happen in life and you just have to roll with it. I wish things could have been better but our focus is on our daughter.”

Matthew, 40, and Naama, 26, welcomed their first child, Aven Angelica, last March and despite the split, the doting dad is keeping his spirits up by concentrating on his 11-month-old baby girl as she learns to walk.

“She can walk but she’s afraid to,” Matthew told Celebrity Baby Blog. “She walks behind her Ikea stroller that we have. I try to walk with her holding her hands, but the moment I touch her she wants to sit down. She knows that you are going to ask her to walk and she’s like, ‘I’m not ready!’ So I think she’s going to be cautious, which is good because I’m not always the most cautious person.”

Matthew will soon take a risk of his own — he’ll make his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago for a 10-week limited engagement next month — but at home he already has a duet partner with Aven.

“I have videotape of her singing,” he said. “I bought her a cute little piano called My First Piano and she plays on it and goes, ‘Laa laa.’ She kind of makes her own tunes. She’s a little musician waiting to happen.”

Besides taking on her dad’s singing talent, Matthew says she shares the same type comedy as him. “She’s got a really good sense of humor,” he said. “She smiles a lot and she’s got irony.”

– Paul Chi

Comments

Monique on February 17th, 2010

Wishing the best for Matthew and Naama!! Aven is a beauty in the picture above with her daddy. Caution is good, Matthew.

Erika on February 17th, 2010

I’m getting so upset by all these divorces. What ever happened to staying together, especially for the kids? Aven is adorable and I’m sure they both love her, it’s just so sad she is only what, 11 months old?

Daisy on February 17th, 2010

Yeah, and if two parents are not happy and fighting all the time, it’s much worse for the kids. No one should ever stay together, just for the kids. It messes with the minds of a kid to grow up in a home filled with dislike or hatred.

From this interview it seems like he is thinking about his daughter, and two happy single parents are a heck of a lot better than two married fighting angry parents.

Ashley on February 17th, 2010

It makes me sick to my stomach when parents “stay together for the kids.”

I would rather my parents be seperated and happy than together and unhappy.

SportsFrog13 on February 17th, 2010

Not surprised that Matthew and his wife have separated. Over the past couple of months it seemed like he was the only one to put in any effort over caring for their daughter. He is constantly being photographed or spotted out with the baby with Naama nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was the age difference or the fact that she had a baby at a young age but she did not appear to be happy for it all to happen so fast in such a short time.

Erika on February 17th, 2010

Daisy, I’m not saying THEY shouldn’t have gotten divorced, or it wasn’t the best solution, I’m just saying, too many people, celebrities, and people I know, are getting divorced, and I feel like marriage means nothing anymore. And I’m sure in some cases it is best for the kids for the parents to get divorced.

Liliana on February 17th, 2010

Daisy, I agree.

Staying together for the children is never a good idea. It does them no good to see their parents unhappily together.

As long as both parties are mature and ensure that Aven is their number one priority, she will benefit in the long run.

All Women Stalker on February 18th, 2010

Aww that’s sad about their marriage. But it’s adorable that he seems in love with his daughter

Melissa on February 18th, 2010

I agree with Daisy. Why make the children feel worse living in a home where the parents fight all the time? At least at this young of age, she won’t ever remember her parents fighting and she’ll know that they were always supportive parents who loved her.
Sometimes, it’s better to cut your losses than to make everyone miserable “for the kids”.

True on February 18th, 2010

What ever happened to staying together, especially for the kids?……….. Erika this statement from your post implies that they should STAY married for the baby’s sake, which is NOT ON, my cousins were happy when their parents got divorced because they said they would RATHER have parents that were happy divorced than parents who were miserable married.

JJ on February 18th, 2010

My parents stayed together for the kids and it’s made all of our lives miserable. We all would have been a lot happier if they’d split up beause then my parents would have been happier and it would have made my home life a lot less toxic.

Hea on February 18th, 2010

“What ever happened to staying together, especially for the kids?”

I think people finally realized how utterly stupid and bad that can be.

ecl on February 18th, 2010

I agree that people should not stay together just for the sake of the kids. But I also think that there is no point to getting married if there is no commitment to get through rough patches. Every single relationship will go through rough patches, but people think they should be happy with their partner all the time or it’s not worth it. Now who knows what the case is here, but they haven’t been together very long and it makes me think that they had never worked through a big issue together before getting married. Plus, I think it can be a bit premature to divorce during a baby’s first year of life. That’s a big transition to make as a couple! Sometimes it just takes a while for people to get used to their new roles.

Mary-Helen on February 18th, 2010

Perhaps Erika meant trying to work it out instead of just splitting the first time a problem comes up. It seems like the first time a marriage hits a rough patch, you just split up. There’s counselling, @ least try! If you make the effort & still nothing, then by all means split up, but far too many people just give up @ the first problem. However, matthew’s child is beautiful & I hope he and his wife find common ground.

Erika on February 18th, 2010

Yes, thank you Mary-Helen, that is what I meant. Of course, if you hate each other, or can’t get along, you shouldn’t just stay together because you have kids. And I’m not saying this couple didn’t make an effort, but in real life, I know so many people who were married for 10+ years, have kids, get in one big fight and are divorced quickly. Nobody goes to marriage counseling, or anything anymore. A lot of people hit rough patches, but many times they can be worked out. Especially people who have been married a 2nd, 3rd, 4th time. I wasn’t really talking about them in particular, but expressing my opinion about the subject.

I’m sorry to those who disagree with me, but I just think an effort should be made.

fuzibuni on February 18th, 2010

sportsfroggie… maybe the reason you didn’t see Naama is because she and Matthew have separated, and he gets followed by photographers more than she does. just because you don’t see pictures of her doesn’t mean that she isn’t an involved parent.

erica on February 18th, 2010

As someone that is going through a separation and has a three year old son, of course you need to go through all of the options and do everything you can to make a marriage work. I was with my estranged husband for over seven years and we were married for nearly four years. I know that I did everything that I could to make my marriage work, but in the end I know that theree were fundamental problems with us as a couple that weren’t going to be solved. I do not want to get into all of the things that made our relationship collapse, but in the end I know that we truly were not meant to be. There was a world of mistrust and differences that could not be overcome, and a lot of thing I put up with that made me lose a lot of respect for myself. I want to be a good example for my son and show him that I am the kind of woman that he can look up to and be proud of. I dont want him growing up seeing a lot of the things that were going on, all of the emotional turmoil, and thinking that that is what a marriage is supposed to be.

Of course any couple will go through hard times and you should 100% do whatever you can to work through those. Separating and divorce isn’t something that should be done on a whim. On the other hand though, there are some couples that simply are not meant to be, and the smartest thing you can do is to accept that, and work on being te best parents that you can be.

I never would have fathomed that I would be 28 years old and on the brink of being a single mom. Everything about my life has changed and it has been very hard, but I know in the end that this is what will be the best for everyone. No one knows that goes on in someone elses marriage; it might seem as though it was one thing that made a separation happen, but if you aren’t in their shoes, you can’t have any idea of what made someone come to that hard and painful choice.

Mary-Helen on February 18th, 2010

Seperation and divorce are very hard and it’s hard to know what really happened in a marriage to prompt them to end. Sometimes people work their tails off but it just doesn’t work, like the above poster but there are also people who just don’t seem to try and it’s sad. Perhaps there is hope for Matthew and Naama, maybe not. It’s their life and their call and we don’t know what’s going on. However, @ least they want to be there for their child and are making her priority one.

There are some celebs who do make it work after a seperation. Jessica Alba & Cash Warren, Pink and Carey Hart are some who have managed to work through it.

ecl on February 18th, 2010

On another note, what would make anyone think that their 11 month old has a concept of irony?

Jennifer on February 18th, 2010

I think 1)couples should not just get married just because the woman gets pregnant, 2)you should never stay married just b/c of the kids, and 3)you should be wary of any man who is a bachelor at 40(or appears like a confirmed one, as this guy always struck me as). That’s my take on this story. (Now I’ll wait for the baklash on #3 as I’m sure they’ll be some lol!)

Stella Bella on February 19th, 2010

It’s really sad to see a couple separate before their child is even a year old.

stelly on February 19th, 2010

Seriously, if people stepped back and waited a little longer before having children, their lives and the lives of their eventual children could be so much better…

Robin on February 19th, 2010

My parents also stayed together “for the kids.” Now that my brother and I are adults they have divorced and we are ALL much happier. As much as my parents thought they were giving me a “normal” childhood, I grew up thinking it was gross and weird when married couples showed affection for each other, because my parents never did. Is that “normal”? I also grew up with a lot of arguing around me and thought that was “normal” too. I wish the best for Matthew, Naama, and beautiful Aven. I agree with those who say that Aven will have a happier childhood with 2 happy parents rather than with parents who stayed together just for her

RIP Michael on February 20th, 2010

I wonder if their age difference was a factor? I didn’t know he was 40 I was thinking he was around 34 (yes I am shamelessly speculating and yes I know its really none of my business)…

Sorry I have to say it…Matthew is a great looking 40.

Jessica on March 15th, 2010

Maybe they will get back together. He did say they are “working on it”.