People usually get Robert De Niro wrong. They think because he played the terrifying Max Cady or the stone-cold Michael Vronsky that he’s this impenetrable wall in real life. But if you look at the women he’s actually spent his life with, a very different picture emerges. Honestly, the obsession with finding out who the current robert de niro wife is usually misses the point of how the man actually lives.
As of early 2026, Robert De Niro isn't actually married. He’s in a long-term, very serious relationship with Tiffany Chen, a martial arts powerhouse who could probably take down half of his movie villains. They’ve been together since roughly 2021, and they have a daughter named Gia who was born in April 2023. It’s funny because even though the tabloids want to slap a "wife" label on her, they haven't officially tied the knot. Or at least, they haven't told us.
The Two Marriages That Defined Him
De Niro doesn't do "quick" Hollywood weddings. He’s a marathon runner in relationships.
His first wife was Diahnne Abbott. They married in 1976—right when Taxi Driver was cementing him as the greatest actor of his generation. They were together for 12 years. People forget that he didn't just have a son, Raphael, with her; he also adopted Diahnne’s daughter, Drena. That’s a recurring theme with him. He builds these massive, sprawling, blended families and stays loyal to the kids long after the marriage certificates are filed in a drawer somewhere.
Then there was the Grace Hightower era. This one was a rollercoaster. They married in 1997, split up in 1999, never actually finished the divorce, renewed their vows in 2004 with a star-studded ceremony, and then finally called it quits for real in 2018.
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Twenty years.
That’s a lifetime in Los Angeles or New York years. The divorce from Grace was messy. There were headlines about $100,000-a-month credit card limits and legal battles over his Nobu fortune. It was the kind of public spectacle he usually avoids like the plague.
Who is Tiffany Chen?
If you want to understand the current "partner" dynamic, you have to look at how they met. It wasn't at a flashy gala. They met on the set of The Intern in 2015. Tiffany was the Tai Chi instructor. She was literally teaching him how to find his balance.
Tiffany isn't just "the girlfriend." She’s a world-class athlete. She has dozens of gold medals in martial arts. When she appeared on CBS Mornings with Gayle King, she talked about the health struggles she faced after giving birth to Gia—specifically Bell’s palsy. It was a raw, human moment that you don't usually get from the De Niro camp.
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- Relationship Status: Partner (not married)
- The Connection: Met in 2015, started dating around 2021
- The Family: One daughter, Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro
Why the "Wife" Label is Complicated
Kinda weirdly, the public is obsessed with whether he’ll marry Tiffany. But you’ve gotta remember, De Niro is 82 now. He’s been through the legal ringer twice. At this stage, he seems way more interested in the "work" of being a partner than the paperwork.
He told The Guardian a while back that he doesn't do the "heavy lifting" with the baby, but he supports Tiffany. He’s honest about having help. He doesn't pretend to be a 30-year-old dad doing midnight diaper changes without a nanny. That’s the nuance of De Niro; he’s a realist.
The family tree is massive now. Seven kids. Drena is in her 50s. Gia is a toddler. In 2025, his daughter Airyn (one of the twins he had with Toukie Smith) even shared some of her own personal journey as a trans woman, and De Niro has been quietly, firmly supportive.
Basically, the man’s personal life is a complex web of loyalty and very long-term commitments. Whether he ever calls Tiffany his "wife" legally doesn't seem to change how he treats the relationship. He shows up. They go to Cannes together. They go to Nobu. They raise the kid.
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What You Can Learn From De Niro’s Patterns
If you're looking for lessons in his dating history, it's that he values privacy and longevity. He doesn't date "it-girls" for three months for the PR. He stays for decades. Even his "failed" marriages lasted longer than most people's careers.
If you’re following this story because you’re interested in how high-profile families navigate aging and new relationships, look at the way he handles his exes. Despite the Grace Hightower legal drama, he’s remained a central figure in all his children's lives.
For the latest updates on their public appearances or Tiffany's martial arts projects, you can check out major entertainment outlets like People or The Hollywood Reporter, which tend to get the rare official statements the family actually releases.
Pay attention to the fact that he met his current partner six years before they started dating. It suggests that for him, the best foundations aren't built on a red carpet, but on a movie set where no one is looking.
To get a real sense of his current life, watch his recent interviews about fatherhood in his 80s—they're surprisingly tender and show a side of him the movies usually hide.