Truth behind Lenny Henry and Dawn French's split after 25 years together

26 October 2023 , 15:00

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Inside Lenny Henry and Dawn French's shock split

Comedians Lenny Henry and Dawn French enjoyed a long marriage up until their shock split in 2010.

The Vicar of Dibley star and the Three Little birds actor became one of the most famous couples in comedy. They wed in what Lenny called a "fancy-schmancy chi-chi hall" in London's Covent Garden in 1984. Lenny and Dawn met on the comedy circuit, doing what they both love. Yet after 25 years of marriage, they decided to call it a day.

They announced their "entirely amicable" divorce, stating their intention to "maintain their close friendship". The comedians vowed to both co-parent their daughter Billie and have rarely spoke about their split since. Here are the highs and lows of the comedians' time together and what led to them going their separate ways.

The comedians wed in 1984 in London (Press Association)

Meeting of minds

Lenny, 65, met Dawn, 66, when they were both members of alternative comedy collective, The Comic Strip in 1980. With its irreverent skits, the alternative comedy show launched both their careers as well as Jennifer Saunders' and her husband Adrian Edmondson's.

Dawn encouraged Lenny to move over to alternative comedy where he built a career as a stand-up performer and character comedian. After enjoying each other's company, while getting up to hi-jinx with their comedy pals, the couple decided to make it official and married in London's Covent Garden in 1984.

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Expanding their family

Dawn and Lenny adopted their daughter Billie when she was two weeks old. Before welcoming the little girl, the pair tried to have biological children, but without success. Dawn told the Sunday Telegraph: "I had grief for a while. I did have miscarriages, so I’ve had grief about that as well.

"But the minute Billie arrived that was it for me. She fills everything I needed to be as a mother". The proud parents doted on their daughter, with The Vicar of Dibley star calling Billie "the greatest achievement" of her life.

Shock split

After 25 years of marriage, Dawn and Lenny divorced on the grounds of his "unreasonable behaviour" in 2010. The statement issued on behalf of the couple read: "The separation is entirely amicable and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship. Their priority is to commit to the future joint parenting of their daughter."

There was no further comment made about the reason behind their split, however, Lenny told the Express in 2016: "There’s generally a situation where one partner wants the marriage to finish more than the other. I think maybe one of us did, then the other one did, and then the other did over a period of time and then, in the end, we thought, 'Oh, actually maybe we both do'.

"We knew it wasn't possible to continue," he added. It had been reported that Lenny cheated on Dawn in 1999, an allegation he denied. However, Dawn's unofficial biographer Alison Boyer said the comic duo had been 'outgrowing' their marriage before their split. "[Dawn] and Lenny have long been moving in increasingly different directions and have spent little time together in the past two years," she told The Mail.

'Best of friends'

Lenny and Dawn vowed to remain friends after their split (Getty Images)

Dawn shares her adoptive daughter, Billie, with her ex-husband Lenny Henry (Rex)

After the split Dawn told The Mirror the pair have managed to maintain a friendship. She said: "Remarkably, we seem to have shifted with relative ease from a 25-year marriage to a lasting friendship. I am amazed by us – there is no war, we’ve turned out to be the best of friends. There were lots of good years but one tricky last year."

She added: "This had been a very happy marriage for a very long time and you don't stop looking after each other or caring for each other, whatever has happened."

New beginnings and finding love again

Since splitting with Lenny, Dawn – who was previously 20 stone – underwent a huge transformation and lost seven stone. Dawn needed to lose weight urgently ahead of a hysterectomy. She revealed: "The doctor told me that if I could lose some weight before the op, they would be able to do it via keyhole, and I would recover in three weeks or so. Otherwise it would be big open surgery, and three months to recover."

Dawn said that her approach was simple; low-calorie meals and upping her exercise. "No magic wand, just tiny, joyless low-cal eating and lots more walking for weeks and weeks," she explained. In 2012, the actress started dating Mark Bignell, who leads a drug and alcohol abuse charity, which was launched by Dawn’s late mum Felicity.

Opening up about how she was nervous to get back in the dating game, Dawn admitted: "I thought, 'oh God, how repulsive. I’ll have to buy new pants'. Dating was excruciating and difficult as I’m not an accomplished flirter. Then, bang, I met somebody else. I started to claim my life back.

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"I know that I will make a good life for myself with all sorts of things as armour. Including stuff, my new chap is teaching me that I never knew. Now my life is in Cornwall with him. I hope it is a life together." Dawn's dreams came true when the pair got hitched in Cornwall, where Dawn was born, after only a year of dating in 2013. The intimate ceremony was attended by those closest to the star – including Lenny.

Zara Woodcock