Ben Stiller Is Fully Committed To Christine Taylor & Their Met Gala Return Is Proof

This year, the first Monday in May likely left some New Yorkers between a rock and a hard place. This day is always dedicated to the Met Gala. This time, though, it coincided with other big events, from Star Wars Day to Game 1 of the NBA playoffs, part of which featured the New York Knicks playing the Philadelphia 76ers. Devoted Knicks fan Ben Stiller admitted that he wished he was at the game, but he headed to the 2026 Met Gala instead, proving that he's putting his wife over his team. Now, that's love. 

"Let's go Knicks!" someone yelled as Stiller got in the car en route to the Met Gala in a video that's making the rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I wish I was there," he replied with a laugh. Instead, he headed to the Met Gala alongside wife Christine Taylor for the first time since 2016.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy obnoxiously mocked Stiller for missing the game in favor of fashion's biggest night, posting a photo of Stiller and Taylor at the event and writing on X, "If Ben Stiller picked the Met Gala over Game 1 of the Knicks game he may have to turn in his man card." It seems, though, that Stiller may have chosen to spend the night doing Taylor's activity of choice as a special gesture to her.

It may have been a decade since Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor last attended the Met Gala together, yet the timing is likely important. The year after attending the 2016 Met Gala, Ben and Taylor announced that they were separating. The couple have since worked through their issues, even speaking about it in Stiller's 2025 documentary, "Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost," which delved into the relationship between his parents, actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

"When we separated, my feeling was like, 'Oh, I'm failing at this,' and look at my parents, they have this incredible 50-plus-year marriage, and I can't live up to that," Ben explained in the film (via People). Stiller and Taylor reportedly got back together when they found themselves living together with their two children again during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It's easy to imagine that a return to the Met Gala after separating and reuniting might be particularly special for Stiller and Taylor. It's made even more special since Stiller was able to sacrifice the Knicks game to be there with her. Plus, since the Knicks' colors are blue and orange, it's safe to guess that her blue dress and his orange tie were her way of compromising. She surely would have 'nixed' that orange tie otherwise ... pun intended.