Claire Foy's love life and divorce from husband after lifesaving brain surgery

18 February 2024 , 18:00

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British actress Claire Foy has been nominated for a BAFTA

All Of Us Strangers star Claire Foy has portrayed many romances on screen - but finds love 'heartbreaking' herself.

The 39-year-old, who has been nominated for BAFTA's Best Supporting Actress 2024 for her role in All Of Us Strangers, was married for four years to a fellow actor before they made the heartbreaking decision to split. She went on the candidly share how 'painful' falling in love is, then was rumoured to have met someone last year.

Claire, best known for playing a young Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown, has also starred in medical drama Doctors, BBC's adaptation of Little Dorrit and Wolf Hall. As the mum-of-one is up for an award tonight, we take a look at her life off-screen and real-life romances over the years.

Claire and Stephen Campbell Moore were married for four years and share a daughter

In 2014, Claire married Stephen Campbell Moore, who starred in The History Boys, War of the Worlds and Downton Abbey. They met on the set of Season Of The Witch in 2011, and welcomed a daughter named Ivy Rose in March 2015.

The following year, Stephen underwent life-saving surgery after doctors found a brain tumour. The actor revealed he prepared for the op by writing letters to his loved ones, just in case the worst should happen.

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"You realise you're not the most important person in that process, and everybody who loves you goes through far worse," he told The Sun. "My daughter didn't know what was going on at all. But my family did, and I could see it in them."

The surgery went well, but two years later, Stephen was back in hospital having the same procedure again. Months later, Stephen and Claire split up. They said in a statement: "We have separated and have been for some time. We do however continue as great friends with the utmost respect for one another."

Stephen moved on with actress Sophie Cookson and they welcomed a child in 2020 (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Pimm's)

Claire was rumoured to be dating musician Charlie Cunningham at the end of last year (Instagram)

The couple divorced in 2018 and Stephen later moved on with actress Sophie Cookson, who starred in Red Joan with Stephen, and they welcomed their first child together in 2020.

While Claire reportedly remained single for five years and spoke openly about her feelings towards love, revealing that she can find it 'heartbreaking'. In 2021, she told The Times: "I just find the whole loving-people thing heartbreaking - I don't really get what the point in human beings is because it's just all so painful. It hurts so much. The world hurts. It's beautiful and awful."

Then last year, it was reported Claire had started dating musician Charlie Cunningham, 40, and the pair were spotted out on dates around London. It's the first time the actress is known to have been in a relationship since her divorce.

Nia Dalton