Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied divorce after 11 years of marriage

Since last summer, which was plagued by celebrity breakups, there was already talk of the possible separation of the couple formed by the actress and Oscar winner Natalie Portman, 42, and the French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, 46 Some rumors surrounded by information about his infidelity.

Seven months later, the breakup has been confirmed.

The couple is now officially divorced, as reported by a representative of the interpreter to

this Friday, March 8.

The couple had been married for 11 years and had been in a relationship for 14 years, and they have two children together, Aleph, 12, and Amalia, seven.

As explained by the actress' representative to the American media, Portman filed for divorce last July, which was made official in February in France, where the former couple lived with their children.

“Initially, it was very hard for her, but her friends have been by her side and helped her get through the worst,” a mutual friend tells

.

“Natalie is coming out of a really hard and painful year, but she has come out on the other side stronger and is finding joy in her family, friends and work,” the same source explains.

More information

Natalie Portman or how to move feminism from theory to practice

Little given to talking about her private life, just a few weeks ago the actress made some brief statements in the Hollywood special of

When asked about the lead-up to the release of the film

, during which French outlet

published an article alleging that Millepied had an extramarital affair, Portman replied: "It's terrible and I have no desire to contribute to it." it".

Rumors of separation began to surface in early August 2023, when the performer was seen without her wedding ring on the day of her anniversary – an alliance that, according to

, she has not worn in public since September.

Although they have been seen together on several occasions since then.

was

the first to report the information, citing sources close to the couple.

“After news of his infidelity became known, they have been trying to work on their marriage, but right now it is not possible,” said those sources.

The infidelity they refer to comes from early June, when both the French media

and the American

began to publish that Millepied had had an extramarital relationship with a 25-year-old climate change activist.

According to the American magazine, that relationship was “short and had already ended,” and cited sources close to the now ex-couple who spoke of “an immense failure” on the part of the dancer whom she was trying to remedy.

But the couple has not been able to find a solution.

Portman and Millepied were married in Big Sur (California) on August 4, 2012, in an intimate ceremony with around 60 guests, officiated by the Jewish rite.

So, they had been dating for almost three years, since they met on the set of Darren Aronofsky's

.

In the film, she played a dark dancer, and he was the one who helped prepare her ballet steps.

The role earned Portman enormous recognition and a handful of awards, including the Bafta, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Critics Choice and the Golden Globe, in addition to the Oscar, which she went up to collect while pregnant with her first child. she.

The child, named Aleph, was born a few months later, in February 2011. In February 2017, the couple had their second child, a girl named Amalia.

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied, at a Christian Dior fashion show in Paris, in January 2015.Pascal Le Segretain (Getty Images)

Born in Jerusalem, Portman has been working in the film industry since she was a child.

Now, in her adult stage, in addition to being an actress—a facet that she has decided to slow down—she is a producer;

In fact, the latest film in which she stars,

, which she presented last May at the Cannes festival, is also created by her production company, MountainA, and she decided that Todd Haynes would direct it.

“I've been doing this for so many years that I've seen the industry change radically.

Now, I did not lose hope that at the end of the confinement she would act again.

Because since we have been human beings we need to be told stories,” he said in an interview with EL PAÍS at the French city's film festival held in May 2023. “For some time now, I like more risky things, like this movie.

I have been acting for decades, and now that I have moved to the production side I have discovered other challenges... and other difficulties.

This time everything has flowed, and I hope to continue like this for a while.”

Among those “riskier things” is also her soccer team, Angel City FC, a women's team that she founded three years ago in the city of Los Angeles (California), along with the support of other well-known faces such as the actresses Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain and former tennis player Serena Williams.

“I think it is very important to have role models and heroes who are women for both boys and girls.

It is such an incredible sport because it really is a team sport,” she then told the city's newspaper, the

inspired by the victory of the American team in the 2019 Women's Soccer World Cup.

Portman was among the first celebrities on the Hollywood scene to openly declare herself a feminist.

At the 2022 Oscars, the actress and producer wore a dress with a black cape on which were embroidered the names of the directors who could have been nominated and awarded by the Academy, but who did not make it onto the award lists: Greta Gerwig (

), Elsa Amiel (

), Mati Diop (

), Marielle Heller (

), Celine Sciamma (

), Melina Matsoukas (

), Lulu Wang (

) and Lorene Scafaria (

).

She has also taken a stand in favor of the Time's Up movement, which shook the foundations of the film industry to denounce sexism and harassment, and has spoken openly about the importance of equal pay.

“If we don't talk to each other, we can't share, we can't get information, we can't get angry and join the cause,” she said in an interview in

a couple of years ago.