It’s over for Downton Abbey alum Hugh Bonneville and wife Lulu Williams. A rep for the actor announced their split on Sunday, October 1.
“I can confirm that Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams have separated,” Bonneville’s spokesperson told The Sun. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
The news of his separation comes just one week after he appeared at Downton costar Michelle Dockery‘s wedding. While Dockery, 41, exchanged wedding bands with Jasper Waller-Bridge at the star-studded London ceremony on September 23, Bonneville, 59, noticeably attended without a date nor his own ring.
Williams and Bonneville tied the knot in November 1998 and share one son, Felix, 20.
“Lulu’s priority has been to be a bedrock for Felix and me and I’m completely indebted to her,” Bonneville told the Daily Mail in 2011. “Felix was long looked for and we’re very blessed to have him.”
Prior to becoming parents, Williams and the Paddington actor met as children. They fell out of touch until Bonneville’s mother reconnected them. “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,” he told BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” in 2016. “It did infuriate me that I had to give full credit to my mum for reintroducing us.”
It wasn’t long after reconnecting that Bonneville realized they had a special connection. “I had girlfriends, but settling down was the last thing on my mind,” Bonneville told the Daily Mail. “Then you meet someone and think, “This is the person I want to be with.”
He added, “We had a shared history. That helps when you’re in it for the long haul.”
Williams, for her part, said that Bonneville’s rising star didn’t affect her. “I don’t notice women fawning over him — although I know everybody talks about it,” Williams told the Daily Mail in October 2012 amid Downton Abbey’s successful run. “Don’t forget we met as teenagers and have a lot of history. We’re not fazed by the glitz of the showbusiness world. We are just home-loving people and don’t make a habit of hanging out at celebrity parties.”
The duo reportedly celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2018 by renewing their vows in Las Vegas at the famous Graceland Chapel.
They last went on a public outing together in April at The Tomorrow Gala for the Old Vic in London.
