Helena Bonham Carter's wild romances - Emma Thompson affair and age-gap lover
Known for her eccentricity, bold outfits and fondness for quirky roles, Helena Bonham Carter has enjoyed an extraordinary career - and her personal life has also been quite eventful.
Since 2018, the Nolly actress has been in a relationship with Rye Dag Holmboe, an art historian 21 years her junior. The smitten couple first locked eyes at a wedding both of them almost didn't attend, in what Helena, 57, described to The Guardian as a 'really happy accident'.
Although they've had to contend with their fair share of comments about their age gap, this is far from the first time that the London-born thespian's romantic life has sparked curiosity.
Helena fell for Kenneth Brannagh on the set of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Helena has found love again with art historian Rye Dag Holmboe (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Affair that inspired iconic Love Actually scene
While playing doomed bride-to-be Elizabeth in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Helena became romantically involved with onscreen love interest Kenneth Brannagh, who was at that point still married to fellow actor Emma Thompson. Emma, who had previously worked with Helena on the set of Howard's End (1992), was left utterly devastated by the betrayal, which ultimately led to her separation from Kenneth in 1995. She then chanelled that pain into an iconic depiction of heartbreak on screen.
Fans of Love Actually will no doubt recall the powerful scene where Karen takes a moment for herself in the bedroom after discovering husband Harry had bought an expensive necklace for another woman. For Emma, 64, the tears of emotion were very real indeed, and she drew from her own feelings of anguish following Kenneth's infidelity.
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Emma Thompson drew on her own real-life heartbreak for the scene (Supplied by LMK)London-born Emma, who was married to Kenneth for eight years, opened up about the real-life inspiration behind the tearjerking scene while attending a fundraising event in 2018. As reported by the Evening Standard, Emma said: "That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it's something everyone's been through. I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn't meant for me. Well, it wasn't exactly that, but we've all been through it."
Thankfully, Emma found love again with her Sense and Sensibility (1995) co-star Greg Wise, who she credited with 'picking up the pieces' after her split from Kenneth during a 2010 appearance on Desert Island Discs. Kenneth and Helena dated for five years before parting ways, and it would appear that any bad feelings Emma once held against them have long been set aside.
During a 2013 interview with The Sunday Times, Emma said that Kenneth's affair was, by that point, 'all blood under the bridge', reflecting: "You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago." Showing her characteristic wit, she went on to quip: "Being slightly mad and a bit fashion-challenged. Perhaps that's why Ken loved us both. She's a wonderful woman, Helena."
Helena was in a relationship with director Tim Burton for 13 years (Getty Images)
The quirky couple shared a love for the unconventional (Getty Images)Relationship with Hollywood legend
For many years, Helena and Tim Burton had one of the most famous relationships in Hollywood, with many fans regarding the gothic pair as the perfect match. Helena and Tim, 65, first locked eyes on the set of Planet of the Apes (2001), and romance soon blossomed. Tim reportedly approached Helena with the line, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you are the first person I thought of to play a chimpanzee", but she thankfully didn't take offence.
Remembering that fateful conversation during a 2008 interview with The Guardian, Helena said: "He explained himself. He said: 'I just got the feeling you like to change what you look like'. And I said: 'You're absolutely right'." Although rumours were circulating at the time that the relationship had begun during filming - when Tim was still dating the model and actress Lisa Marie - Helena had clarified this wasn't the case. She told the same publication in 2006: "Tim is very shy, and I was dressed as an ape all the time, so we didn't really collide."
The duo never married, but were together for 13 years, during which time they welcomed children Billy, 20, and Nell, 16. They were also frequent collaborators over their time together, with Helena appearing in eight of Tim's films. Although some might assume some favouritism was at play here, both have denied this was the case. Indeed, Helena was the only voice actor in Corpse Bride (2005) who was asked to audition. Speaking with GamesRadar in 2006, the director admitted: "Maybe because I'm with her I was a little harder on her than I would be with somebody else. Nobody else had to audition, that's true. But Helena's cool about it. She's very secure with herself."
Distinctive style aside, Helena and Tim appeared to share an unconventional approach to life, famously living next door to each other in London's Belsize Park, in two adjoining houses connected by a corridor. Helena previously revealed: "My house looks like something out of Beatrix Potter, but if you go over to his house, you're in a totally different place. He's got slime balls and dead Oompa-Loompas lying around, and skeletons and weird alien lights."
In December 2014, movie fans were saddened to learn that the iconic couple had parted ways, in what was described as an amicable separation. Opening up about the split to Red magazine in 2015, Helena shared: "Our relationship was always somewhat special, and I think it'll always remain special. We did find each other. And really, the mark of a successful relationship shouldn't be whether you're there forever after. Sometimes you're not meant to be forever together. Sometimes you have to come to terms with the fact that that was it. But that was a gift, a massive gift. We gave each other children and a lot more else."
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