﻿Ever wondered what goes on behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's red carpets?
Get ready to lift the veil on Emma Thompson's personal life and brace
yourselves for some shocking revelations. But let's start with the pleasant part,
and then we'll move on to the dreadful one. Emma is currently happily married to Greg Wise.
Greg is more than content to let his wife, Dame Emma Thompson, take the spotlight, especially
since, as he puts it, she "earns a lot more." The couple, who have been together since 1995,
prioritize their family life over Hollywood glitz.
Wise has always been clear that his career comes second, choosing not to pursue
opportunities in America to stay close to home. In an interview with the Observer newspaper,
he candidly shared, "I spent the year after 'Sense and Sensibility' working as a builder, which I
loved ... I’m not really an actor ... I’m going to get slapped by the wife for saying that."
For him, life is about more than acting; it's about embracing a variety of passions,
including woodworking and gardening. He humorously remarked, "Em comes and
goes. She’s been doing an awful lot of writing and she’s making a thriller in
Finland at the moment. She earns a lot more than me, so God bless her. Let her work!"
While the couple calls London home, they also own a charming abode in Venice, Italy, where
they hope to spend more time in the future. Thompson has long dreamed of living in the
magical city of Venice, and she's already begun to make that dream a reality.
In an interview with Italian publication Il Gazzettino, she shared her excitement
about settling in Venice for an extended period, emphasizing her passion for the
city and her commitment to learning Italian. Their love story has been one of mutual support
and resilience, particularly during challenging times.
Thompson credits her husband with helping her through difficult periods, including her
heartbreaking divorce from Kenneth Branagh. Thompson said once, “Work saved me and Greg
saved me. He picked up the pieces and put them together again.
Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompsom met while starring in the mini-series "Fortunes Of
War". The couple soon started a romance so strong that they tied the knot only two years later.
The wedding ceremony took place in a luxury country house near London,
and it was star-studded. Actor Brian Blessed was the best man, and some of the guests included
Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Judi Dench. The lovebirds not only worked well as a couple
but also made an excellent professional duo. The actors continued starring in films together,
some of which Kenneth directed. The pair was nicknamed "The Ken & Em Show".
The two of them together were loved by fans so much that the stars sometimes felt like they
were losing their identities. For this reason, there came a point when Emma and Kenneth even
refused to do interviews together. The couple stayed in love for several
years. However, near the end of their marriage, their union started to show signs of trouble. In
January 1995, Thompson spent two weeks at a health clinic. According to People Magazine,
when Brannagh visited her, the actress told another patient, "He might as well have
not bothered. I just want to sleep." Emma's desire to start a family could
have also added tension to the marriage. Two years before the divorce, the actress told an
interviewer that she felt her biological clock ticking away. However, Ken was very tired from
all the work he’s been doing. "I should think all his sperms are on crutches," she joked.
Finally, the couple released a divorce statement in 1995, explaining that their work had kept
them separate for long periods of time. "As a result, we have drifted apart," the stars
added. Fans were understandably shocked. Many believe there was more to the story…
and they were right! The year before his divorce, Brannagh directed and starred
alongside actress Helena Bonham Carter in his adaptation of "Frankenstein", and it
was later revealed that they had an affair. After their split, Thompson "was half alive," she
told the New Yorker. "Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely," she noted.
The heartache from her past has become fodder for Thompson's compelling performances on both screen
and stage. “I’ve had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom, then having to go out and be
cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer,” she shared, recalling a
poignant scene from 2003’s Love Actually, where her character uncovers her husband’s affair.
"I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set," she
said of Branagh, who she married in 1989 after meeting on the set of Fortunes Of War. "What I
learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself."
So, Greg Wise was one of the actors starring in the Emma’s movie. Before filming, he had
seen a psychic friend who told him he would meet his future wife on the set of "Sense and
Sensibility". This led to a hilarious anecdote… When he arrived on set, Wise thought actress Kate
Winslet was the one. The two actors went on a date, but there was no chemistry. Later on,
it was Kate who suggested to Greg that he should date Emma.
Thompson was still hurt by her breakup, but a few months after the divorce, she decided to give
love a chance and went on a date with Greg. And the psychic friend was right because the couple
has been together for almost three decades! After dating for eight years, the lovebirds
finally got married in 2003. They share two children. Tindy is a former child soldier from
Rwanda who the family adopted after inviting him to Christmas Eve dinner. He is now a human
rights activist, who travels the world helping refugees and asylum seekers. Their daughter,
Gaia, has followed in her parents' footsteps and become an actress.
Emma certainly got her happy ending, and was able to get over the affair. In 2013, the actress and
screenwriter addressed the infidelity in an interview with The Sunday Times. She
explained that she was over it and there wasn't any bad blood between her, Kenneth, or Helena.
"You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless," Thompson said. She also
joked about her and Bonham Carter being similar because they were both
"slightly mad and a bit fashion-challenged." "Perhaps that's why Ken loved us both," the star
added. "She's a wonderful woman, Helena." Ironically, Kenneth, Emma and Helena have
worked together since the affair. They have all been a part of the Harry Potter franchise,
although each of them debuted in different installments. Actually,
they are still friendly with each other and each of the stars is happy and living their own life.