Hugh Bonneville and his wife of 25 years, Lulu Williams, are getting a divorce. A rep close to the 59-year-old Downton Abbey actor announced their split on Sunday, October 1, 2023. “I can confirm that Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams have separated,” the spokesperson shared with The Sun.
Another source stated: “It is clear that Lulu feels as if 20-odd years of marriage counts for nothing. It’s a shame as locally they were known to be a very sociable couple. Hugh has been away from home filming a lot this year. He has lost a bit of weight this summer, he was looking trim, tanned, and relaxed.”
The former pair had initially met in their teens, but later reconnected and got together in their 30s. Hugh credited his mother for bringing them back into each other's lives. "Lulu was running a marquee company … my mother rang her to hire some chairs or something and said, 'Do you remember Hugh?'" he formerly shared.
The two got married in November 1998. They share a 20-year-old son named Felix.
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Just last week, the actor attended the wedding of his costar, Michelle Dockery. It was noted that he was there without his wife and wasn't wearing his wedding ring.
Lulu would previously accompany Hugh to premieres and other events, but her recent absences has had people speculating trouble in their marriage. The former couple renewed their vows at Graceland chapel in Las Vegas five years ago.
Lulu was reported to have shared that she wasn't very fond of her husband's growing fame in 2012. “I don’t take any notice," she then said. "I don’t notice women fawning over him — although I know everybody talks about it."
"Don’t forget, we met as teenagers and have a lot of history," she continued. "We’re not fazed by the glitz of the show business world. We are just home-loving people and don’t make a habit of hanging out at celebrity parties.”
With his role of Robert Crawley on Downton Abbey from 2010 to 2015, Hugh began to gain more attention for his acting profile. The former pair still kept a lot of their private life out of the spotlight.
Hugh's divorce from Lulu isn't the first divorce of the Downton Abbey cast. Joanne Froggatt divorced her husband, James Cannon, after eight years. Amy Nuttall also divorced her husband of 11 years, Andrew Buchan.
