David Thewlis got married five years ago.
The 58-year-old actor – who was previously wed to Sara Sugarman from 1992 to 1994 and has daughter Gracie, 16, with former girlfriend Anna Friel – caused a stir last week when he referenced being married to his partner Hermine on Instagram, and he's admitted he was surprised by the headlines his casual remark generated because they have been husband and wife for so long.
"That was so weird. I mentioned my wife in passing on Instagram and suddenly the tabloids were reporting that, 'I'd got married in a secret ceremony', like I'm a Freemason," he told the Observer New Review.
"I've been with my wife 10 years, we got married five years ago and I've worn a wedding ring ever since. Just because I didn't alert the (newspapers) didn't mean it was secret."
The Naked star credits video calls for keeping his relationship with Hermine "alive" when they're working in separate countries.
Discussing his new novel, Shooting Martha – about a director mourning his dead wife – he said: "Oddly enough, it pre-dated all the lockdown Zooms.
"I already did a lot of FaceTiming with my wife, Hermine. We were in separate countries for work and family reasons but it kept our relationship alive. We'd cook the same meal, drink the same wine and dine like we were at the same table.
"When we turned each other off at the end of the night, it was strange and existential because we'd been together but not. It led to the idea of a bereaved man keeping his wife alive via video calls. At the same time, I came across this fascinating documentary called L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot. That fed into it, as did Hitchcock's Vertigo."