Dylan Dreyer spoke on TODAY for the first time about her separation from Brian Fichera, offering a candid look at how the two are navigating co-parenting.
“Everybody has their reasons for what leads to a separation or divorce, right?” Dylan told Jenna Bush Hager. “That’s another story — with a lot of wine! But yes, either way, we’ve gotten to this place.”
In July, Dylan revealed that she and Fichera were moving forward on different paths after 12 years of marriage. They are parents to three sons, Calvin, 8, Oliver, 5, and Rusty, 4.
“For us, we even talked to the kids about it. I asked Calvin, ‘What do you think a family is?’ And he said, ‘It’s a group of people that love each other.’ And I said, ‘That’s what we are, and we will always be that for you. But Mommy and Daddy work better as friends than as husband and wife.’”
Dylan said that Calvin and his brothers aren’t concerned with titles or labels, emphasizing that they are “surrounded by love” every day.
For Dylan and Fichera, there were things in their marriage that they couldn’t fix. “So now we’ve reframed our relationship,” she explained. “We’re no longer husband and wife. And all those things that were broken — I don’t hold them against (him). Because we’ve accepted they’re broken. That’s why we separated. Now let’s move forward as friends.”
“And I’m not mad at those other things that I was getting mad at before, because just like a friend you give them a little more grace when you’re not married to it,” she continued. “And I can be a better friend than a wife.”
Now, Calvin, Oliver, and Rusty are “surrounded by love,” Dylan said. Fichera is a regular fixture at their house, dropping the boys off at school and joining them for dinner most nights. The family will celebrate Thanksgiving together.
Dylan Dreyer’s sons @dylandreyernbc
via Instagram
“I want their dad in their life. They need that. They need both the dynamic of a mother and a father, and we’re providing that to them in the best way possible,” Dylan said. She described her relationship with Fichera as “friends who will be there” for their children, “no matter what.”
When announcing her separation in July, Dylan shared a statement on Instagram.
“For many years I have shared my family with you all — the highs and lows, the ups and downs, and all of the blessings and beautiful memories in between,” she wrote at the time. “I am incredibly grateful for the support and love you’ve given me through it all.”
Dylan added that she and Fichera, whom she married in 2012, “began as friends, and… will remain the closest of friends,” noting that they plan to continue co-parenting “with nothing but love and respect for one another.”
That same month, they showed they were truly putting that commitment into practice, joining Fichera’s extended family on vacation.
Dylan Dreyer’s city kids marked their first Halloween in the ‘burbs.TODAY
Recently, Dylan relocated with her boys from New York City to the suburbs, where they celebrated their first Halloween in their new home. Her youngest, Rusty, eagerly took on the role of doling out candy, though trick-or-treaters may be hoping he doesn’t reprise the job next year.
“He would hand out just one Hershey’s Kiss!” Dylan said with a laugh on Nov. 3, recalling how the children at the door couldn’t hide their disappointment, muttering, “Aww, man!”
