The separation of Allison Williams and Ricky Van Veen in June 2019 marked the end of an eight-year romance and just a few months shy of their four-year wedding anniversary.
The relationship between actor Allison Williams and entrepreneur Ricky Van Veen seemed perfect on the surface. The pair met in 2011, while Williams was playing the deceptively polished character Marnie Michaels in HBO’s “Girls.” Meanwhile, Van Veen was two years into his work as CEO of Notional, the production company spinoff of his popular site, CollegeHumor.
He proposed to Williams in 2014 and the couple married the following year. The innovative businessman and radiant star seemed like the model All-American couple fit for a Ralph Lauren ad. So, what led to the break-up of this seemingly perfect couple?
The Beginning of their Relationship
The couple met in 2011 at a mutual friends’ viewing party of “The Bachelor,” a show that would continue to play a significant role in their relationship. Three years after their initial meeting, Van Veen proposed to Williams at another “The Bachelor” viewing party hosted by television writer and producer Lee Eisenberg.
The Fairytale Wedding
In September 2015, Williams and Van Veen tied the knot in a luxurious wedding at Brush Creek Ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming. The ceremony was attended by 150 to 200 guests, including Williams’ “Girls” costars and high-profile friends like Katy Perry, John Mayer, and Tom Hanks, who officiated the wedding.
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Early Days of Marriage
In March 2016, seven months into their marriage, Williams gushed about her relationship with Van Veen, saying, “It’s good. It feels very much the same … married life is awesome.” However, despite this positive outlook, things seemed to take a turn for the worse in the following years.
below the flawless facade was an apparently faulty foundation, and the couple announced their separation in June 2019. The announcement shattered the illusions of perfection the couple showed the world.
It marked an end to an eight-year romance, just a few months shy of the pair’s four-year wedding anniversary. So what went wrong along the way? Did the relationship burn out with a bang, or simply fade away as the two drifted apart?
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It was unclear when things started to go south
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when things went wrong between Williams and Van Veen. In early 2019, Williams told the New York Post that the couple was “still figuring it out.” That same month, Van Veen posted a photo on Instagram of Williams and their dog with the caption, “My girls.” It was one of the last pictures of the couple on Van Veen’s social media account.
Allison Williams announced her separation from her Husband Ricky Van Veen in June 2019
In June 2019, Williams and Van Veen released a joint statement to Page Six announcing their separation. “With mutual love and respect, we have made the decision to separate as a couple. We are grateful for the friendship that we have and will continue to have,” the statement read.
Unlike many celebrity breakups, Williams and Van Veen’s separation was relatively low-key. There were no public fights or scandalous rumors, and the couple released a joint statement announcing their split. “With mutual love and respect, we have made the decision to separate as a couple,” the statement read. “We are grateful for the friendship that we have and will continue to have.”
In the aftermath of the split, Williams and Van Veen have both continued to focus on their careers. Williams has continued acting and producing, while Van Veen has remained CEO of Notional. The former couple has also managed to maintain a sense of cordiality, with Williams even attending Van Veen’s birthday party in 2019.
Despite their split, Williams maintained that the two were on good terms. “Ricky and I are a family and we’ll always be a family, and we’re going to be in each other’s lives,” Williams told People in January 2020.
Since the separation, Van Veen has stayed out of the public eye. He has not spoken about the split or his relationship with Williams.