Emma Thompson says she was 'humiliated' by her husband cheating on her with Helena Bonham-Carter
Most of us will never fully recover from the heartbreak of the 'Joni Mitchell CD' incident in Love Actually, but it makes all the more painful knowing that actress Emma Thompson went through a similar experience in her personal life.
Beloved actress Emma Thompson revealed that she felt 'humiliated' and 'only half human' after her husband's affair with Helen Bonham-Carter was discovered.
Thompson's first marriage was to actor Kenneth Branagh back in 1989 which ended in divorce after his infidelities with 'other actresses on set' came to light.
Advert
The Nanny McPhee star shared that the their relationship was 'volatile' for the first two years, as she compared them to 'mating lobsters, we clashed claws'.
The 64-year-old actress opened up about his affair with the New Yorker, saying : "I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set. I was half alive. Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely."
She added: "What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself."
After uncovering Branagh's betrayal of entering an affair with Helen Bonham-Carter, the couple were divorced after just six years of marriage, with Thompson also suggesting that time away from each other while filming probably fast-tracked the separation, as they released a joint statement at the time that read: “Our work has inevitably led to our spending long periods of time away from each other, and as a result, we have drifted apart."
The actress shared that the only positive she could take from the devastating situation was her ability to bring raw emotion to her character in Love Actually, which is now an iconic performance in film history, and she shared that it 'got her prepared' for the truly gutting role, saying:
“That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it’s something everyone’s been through. I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So, I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me. Well, it wasn’t exactly that, but we’ve all been through it.”
Thompson said that her healing only truly began when she entered into a relationship with her second husband of now 27 years, Greg Wise, who she commends for 'picking up the pieces and putting them back together' during her lowest point.
The pair were married in 2003 and share two children together, Gaia, 22, and adopted son, Tindyebwa.
Bonham-Carter and Thompson has co-stared in various films together since, but if you're picturing awkward tension and silent lunch breaks on set, the actress has 'forgiven' the past and said it's 'blood under the bridge' for the pair, saying: "You can’t hold on to anything like that. It’s pointless.
"I haven’t got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago."
Topics: Celebrity, Emma Thompson, Harry Potter
Chelsea Connor