Natasha Lyonne Says She's Entered Her 'Divorced Dad Era' After Split from Fred Armisen

In an interview published Wednesday, Natasha Lyonne spoke about life after her breakup and the new second season of Russian Doll

Natasha Lyonne in the front row Gucci Love Parade show, Front Row, TCL Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA - 02 Nov 2021
Photo: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Natasha Lyonne is entering a brand-new era.

The 43-year-old Russian Doll star spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the mind-bending Netflix drama's newest season and also opened up about how she's feeling after her recent split from her boyfriend of nearly eight years, Fred Armisen.

After confirming their amicable breakup earlier this month, Lyonne shared she's now in what she calls her "divorced dad era."

"I live a pretty no-dependence lifestyle, and I like it that way," Lyonne told EW. "I just want to do my workaholism and have my weekend — and have some yacht rock and weird parties. But I think it's so weird that we have such limited time here and we spend so much of it worrying about the dumbest s--- ever."

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Lyonne previously spoke about the breakup to The Hollywood Reporter, jokingly insinuating the reason behind their separation was actually quite simple.

"I honestly think we broke up because I wanted a swimming pool," she shared. "We love each other just about as much as two people can love each other and we're still talking all the time, but Freddy doesn't like a swimming pool. It might seem like a mundane reason for a breakup, but during that pandemic, you've got to get your laps — I'm like Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer."

The new season of Russian Doll, for which Lyonne also serves as co-creator, executive producer, showrunner, and director, premieres on Netflix April 20. The series follows coding expert Nadia Vulvokov (Lyonne) as she tries to escape an infinite time loop that sees her die, over and over again, on her 36th birthday.

The first season of the show, which premiered in 2019, received widespread critical acclaim for its philosophical tone and genre-blending style. The rookie series garnered 13 Primetime Emmy nominations the same year and won three.

Lyonne also spoke to EW about the impact the first season, and fans' reaction to it, had on her personally.

"It felt like they really received it quite emotionally, and they really understood the jokes and what we were trying to say. It was very moving, because I personally had never felt so exposed," she said. "I really took it as a way of them saying, 'It's okay to dive even deeper and take a bigger swing,' and I wanted to try my best to do that."

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In Season 2, Nadia finds herself transported to the 1980s and faced with navigating an entirely different timeline. Nadia is still accompanied by fellow time-warper Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) and sidekick Maxine (Greta Lee).

Schitt's Creek star Annie Murphy also joins the cast for season 2.

When looking back at the initial three-season pitch Lyonne sketched out for Russian Doll, she said although things look very different now, it's like a "time capsule" that reveals how far the series has come.

"You can tell that our hearts are in it all the way," Lyonne shared, "and it's also really interesting to see how much it's sort of deviated from itself, even in season 1."

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