Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Emma Thompson Opens Up About Discovering Husband Kenneth Branagh's Affair: 'I Was Half Alive'

Emma Thompson; Kenneth Branagh
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage, David Livingston/Getty Images

The two actors were married for six years before Branagh's affair with Helena Bonham Carter.

British actor Emma Thompson opened up about her heartache after discovering her then-husband Kenneth Branagh was having an affair with fellow actor Helena Bonham Carter.

Thompson fell in love with Branagh while costarring together in the BBC’s Fortunes of War. The two married in 1989.


However, their marriage fell apart when Branagh started a relationship with Carter while working on 1994's Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

He directed and starred in the film playing Victor Frankenstein while Carter played his adoptive sister and fiancée.

During that time, Thompson was filming Sense and Sensibility.

While reflecting on the dissolution of their marriage, the actress said she was humiliated by the deception, but admitted it was mostly due to her willful ignorance.

She told the New Yorker in a profile published this week:

“I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set."
“What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself.”

“I was half alive," she recalled of her emotional distress, adding:

"Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely."

Twitter couldn't believe anyone would want to cheat on the beloved Love Actually actress.







The man who helped her get back on her feet and find love again was Thompson's Sense and Sensibility co-star, Greg Wise, who played John Willoughby.

Thompson and Wise have been together for 27 years and married for 19.

In a 2010 interview with the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs, Thompson commented on how her blossoming romance with Wise and working on the movie together saved her "from going under in a very nasty way."

"Work saved me and Greg saved me. He picked up the pieces and put them together again.

The couple has a daughter, Gaia, who Thompson conceived via in Vitro fertilization when she was 39.

They also informally adopted a Rwandan orphan and former child soldier named Tindyebwa Agaba in 2003, the same year Thompson and Wise got married.

She said of her second go as a wife:

“I’ve learned more from my second marriage just by being married."
"As my mother says, ‘the first twenty years are the hardest.’ ”

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Alex Clark; screenshot from Pixar's "Hoppers"
@yoalexrapz/X; Hoppers/Disney Pixar

MAGA Influencer Dragged After Warning Parents Not To Take Kids To 'Hoppers' Because It Isn't 'Biblical'

MAGA influencer Alex Clark, who uses "yo, Alex rapz" as her X handle, recently provided her followers with a movie review that's garnering attention.

The film she critiqued was Hoppers, the latest from Disney's Pixar animation studio.

Keep ReadingShow less
Punch the Monkey
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images

Zoo Releases Statement To Address Concern That Punch The Monkey Is 'Being Bullied' By Other Monkeys

Punch the Monkey went viral overnight because of his adorable face and his companion stuffed animal that he cuddled with after arriving at the Ichikawa City Zoo.

As adorable as viewers across the globe thought he was, however, some were concerned about the orphaned monkey's ability to adjust to the new space and become a part of the troop. Because of videos that appeared online showing older monkeys correcting and disciplining him, some viewers were worried that he was being bullied.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Reportedly Forces His Top Officials To Wear The Same Shoes He Does—And The Pic Has The Internet Howling

President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows after a Wall Street Journal report revealed he has given his male aides the same pair of black dress shoes that he wears, and they're "afraid not to wear them."

According to the publication, Trump has been handing out leather oxford shoes to staff members, agency heads, lawmakers and other political allies. Trump has even asked Cabinet officials during meetings, “Did you get the shoes?” He reportedly favors pairs from Florsheim, which are relatively inexpensive, with many selling for around $150.

Keep ReadingShow less
Quentin Tarantino (left) and Rosanna Arquette (right)
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Quentin Tarantino Sparks Debate With Petty Response To Rosanna Arquette Calling Out Use Of N-Word In His Films

Quentin Tarantino found himself in even deeper hot water after responding to remarks from Pulp Fiction star Rosanna Arquette, who recently discussed the Oscar-winning director’s use of the n-word in his films.

If you need a reminder, Arquette appeared in the 1994 movie as Jody, the wife of Eric Stoltz’s character, Lance, a drug dealer and acquaintance of John Travolta’s Vincent Vega. Her role may have been small, but it was memorable, including the moment when she explains to Travolta why she pierced her tongue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Emoji options while texting
Philip Dulian/picture alliance/Getty Images

Apple Just Revealed Its New iPhone Emojis—And People Have Thoughts

Let's be honest: Most of us have a little computer riding around in our pocket or purse that we refer to much more often than we might like. There's a good chance you're reading this on one of those devices, too!

And as consumers of mobile phone technology, we all have wants and desires for how these devices could be better, and once again, it seems like the production companies are just not listening.

Keep ReadingShow less