'Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville Separates from Wife of 25 Years
Hugh Bonneville and his wife, Lucinda "Lulu" Williams, have separated after nearly 25 years of marriage.
A spokesperson for the Downton Abbey alum confirmed the couple's breakup in a statement shared with The Sun, which read: "I can confirm that Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams have separated."
News of the split comes days after the actor sparked divorce rumors when the 59-year-old actor attended the wedding of Downton Abbey co-star Michelle Dockery and Jasper Waller-Bridge—the brother of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge—last Saturday, Sept. 23, without Williams. He was also photographed at the celebrity-studded event without his wedding ring.
While much of Bonneville's personal life has been kept under wraps, Williams has been by his side, appearing on several red carpets throughout his career, which, in addition to parts in the highly successful period drama and its subsequent film adaptations, also includes roles in movies like Paddington and Notting Hill. Though the two were last publicly spotted together about six months ago, per the report, at a gala for The Old Vic theatre in London.
According to the outlet, Bonneville and Williams initially met as teenagers, but their relationship didn't develop until his mother reintroduced them as adults in their 30s.
"Lulu was running a marquee company... my mother rang her to hire some chairs or something and said, ‘Do you remember Hugh?’ and that was how we reconnected," Bonneville previously said. "It did infuriate me that I had to give full credit to my mum for reintroducing us."
The two married in Nov. 1998, and later welcomed a son named Felix, now 20. The pair also shares a home in West Sussex. To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in 2018, Bonneville and Williams held a vow renewal ceremony at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas.
Details on what led to the former couple's split have not been made public.
