Ralph Fiennes is best known to many as the evil Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise, or as M, the head of MI6 in the last two James Bond movies.
The private star keeps his personal life out of the spotlight, despite counting fellow Hollywood star Joseph Fiennes as his younger brother, but early on in his career, Ralph’s love life hit the headlines.
Back in the late 1990s, the revered stage and screen star was involved in a scandal when it emerged he had left his wife, actress Alex Kingston, for another screen star 18 years his senior.
Ralph and Alex, who is best known for her role in the US medical drama series E.R., as well as Doctor Who, met in 1983, when they were both students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
They cemented their 10-year relationship by getting married in 1993, just as Ralph saw his career skyrocket thanks to his Oscar-nominated appearance in Steven Spielberg’s World War Two drama Schindler’s List.
He gained critical acclaim for his role in the Oscar-winning romantic drama The English Patient in 1996, but just one year later, the couple split, leaving Alex devastated.
The end of their 13-year relationship stunned many, especially as Ralph, then 32, left Alex for actress Francesca Annis, who was aged 50 when they began dating.
They first met when she played the actor’s mother in a production of Hamlet at the Hackney Empire, and it was claimed he and Francesca were involved while they were still with their respective partners.
Francesca, who played Lady Jessica in the original Dune movie back in 1984, reportedly ended her long-term relationship with photographer Patrick Wiseman - the father of her three children - who she had been with for more than two decades, to be with Ralph.
She also once spoke about their age difference, and said: “Of course I don't spend days agonising over the age difference. How can I? There is nothing I can do about it.”
But their romance was also doomed, and in February 2006, after more than 11 years together, it was announced they had split due to his alleged two-year affair with Romanian singer Cornelia Crisan.
The musician went public with details of the sordid affair, and shortly afterwards, Francesca confirmed she and Ralph were parting ways in a brief statement.
“Miss Annis confirms today that she and Ralph Fiennes are to separate,” it read.
Alex previously spoke about feeling “worthless and suicidal” when she and Ralph split amid rumours of his affair, and she told the Evening Standard in 2006 that she felt “no connection” to him anymore.
“It's been so long, I can't quite believe I was ever married to him,” she stated.
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