Brad Garrett secretly divorced wife last year

Former "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Brad Garrett secretly divorced wife Jill Devin last year.

The actor, 46, and Diven quietly divorced, keeping their marital problems secret from Garrett's "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-stars and his own parents.

The couple met in 1998 when Diven was working as a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, Nev., and married in May 1999 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California.

Garrett tells USA Today newspaper his ex-wife is "an extraordinary woman" and "the greatest mom in the world" to their children Max, 7, and Hope, 6.

He adds, "Our number one focus is our kids and parenting. We will always be friends because we will never be single parents. We will always be two parents."

Diven reiterates their split was amicable, insisting, "We both realized we're best friends, and we're always going to be best friends. People grow apart. We could do the 'he said-she said' thing, but that's not us."

sfgate