During a revelatory interview with The New York Times in November 2006, Esparza detailed everything that he had gone through until then in his personal life.
After a light-hearted start to the interview, Esparza delved into his personal life, a rare thing. He revealed he had split from his wife of over a decade, Michele Marie Perez.
The two had met when he was attending high school, but not in the same high school. He attended Belen Jesuit, an all-male Catholic school.
Raul Esparza on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.' (Photo: Raul Esparza/Instagram)
Their romance continued even after graduating from school, and in 1993, they married. He loved her enough to marry her, but he did not love her with his entire self.
He was just 23 when they married. Their relationship was smooth during the initial years.
But, in 2000, things took a left turn as he left for New York from Miami. "I’ve been very unsure of things since I came to New York," he said.
Between the turn of the century and when the interview was taken, they had gone for divorce twice. The first time, they were still in Miami.
That did not work out, and they continued being together for a while longer, at least until the second time. Their second attempt at a legal separation was successful and their divorce was finalized in 2007 when he was 34.
Even though their marriage was turbulent and on-and-off at times, he still valued her and their marriage a lot.
"It’s the end of something I thought was going to be perfect," he told the publication. "She’s my best friend, I’ve known her since high school."
When the interview was taken, he was still on good terms with his ex wife and he still loved her. "We’re still trying to figure a new way to figure it out," he said.
One of the things that caused his marriage to go downhill was his sexuality — something he had not discussed publicly until then. But he had accepted it privately and even moved on from his ex spouse.
