Idina Menzel Talks Single Life: "If I Didn't Have a Job...I'd Be Home Eating a Tray of Brownies"

If/Then star talks about Taye Diggs split and John Travolta's "Adele Dazeem" Oscars flub

By Zach Johnson Apr 04, 2014 6:33 PMTags
Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Idina Menzel isn't wallowing after calling it quits with husband Taye Diggs late last year.

Married for 10 years, the couple announced their separation in December 2013. "If I didn't have a job...I'd be home eating a tray of brownies and, you know, watching sad romantic comedies and Bridget Jones-ing it out," the If/Then Broadway star admits on CBS Sunday Morning, airing Apr. 6.

Menzel, 42, and Diggs, 43, are parents to Walker, 4. Where does Menzel stand with her ex today?

"We met when we were 25 in Rent. So, we've been through a lot of ups and downs, and we've worked really hard for a long time," the star says. "I just think we've grown apart, grown up, grown to a place where we think maybe we can learn new things about ourselves, going on our own separate ways."

Though Menzel won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role in the Broadway musical Wicked, it was her voiceover work in Disney's Frozen that took her career to new heights. In fact, the "Let It Go" singer is the only Tony-winning actress to ever reach Billboard's Top 10.

"I think it's cool to be in your 40s and people first be discovering you," the Glee guest star tells journalist Tracy Smith. "Because as a woman, you know, you always think you're racing against time. So that feels nice. And to have this demographic that's so not my age sometimes, it's very special."

Of course, that experience was slightly marred when John Travolta flubbed her name and introduced her as "Adele Dazeem" at the Oscars. (He has since apologized and even sent Menzel a floral bouquet.)

"What if it all happened, but I had totally caved and didn't do a good job?" she wonders, implying she's forgiven Travolta. "Then it would have been even a different fiasco. So at least I was able to come through and end really strong, and Adele Dazeem, or whoever I am, is actually a really good singer."