Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

Another kiss for Dominic...

(at least it’s with his wife)

- POLLY HUDSON polly.hudson@mirror.co.uk @Dailymirro­r

IS it too late to get Dominic West on the MBE list?

He definitely deserves some kind of honour for services during a time of national crisis.

His marriage saga, which has played out over the last few days, featuring twists and turns that no one could have predicted, has been the first properly engaging distractio­n from coronaviru­s for over six months.

Bravo, all involved.

Because, seriously, what the heck is going on?

Westgate kicked off over the weekend, when photos emerged of Dominic, 50, on a jaunt to Rome, nuzzling and stroking 31-year-old actress Lily James.

Even before the part when he rubbed up against her as they rode an electric scooter – built for one – it had all the trademarks of an embarrassi­ng mid-life crisis. Canoodling with a co-star nearly two decades younger – Dominic plays her dad in an upcoming BBC drama The Pursuit of Love – is, after all the “love” life equivalent of a red sports car and a leather jacket.

The pictures of Dominic and Lily were apparently of particular interest to Catherine Fitzgerald – the woman currently married to Dominic and mother of four of his children.

A female friend who came to console her at the family home in Wiltshire is said to have described Catherine as “shocked, heartbroke­n and devastated”.

She went on: “Catherine has been trying to speak with Dominic but he’s not answering his phone. She’s totally shocked because she didn’t know anything was going on.

“They were very much together, so this is completely out of the blue. She thought they had a good marriage and now it’s probably over.

“That’s how she feels right now. The two of them need to speak but, at the moment, she’s lost for words.”

Case closed then.

Dominic West was not brave enough to have an honest, awful , difficult conversati­on with his wife, so he let someone else do his dirty work.

He’s famous, Lily is too, and every single member of the public has a camera on their phone nowadays, never

He was about to get exactly what he deserved. Except… not so fast. They were literally Putting On A United Front

mind the actual paparazzi. He knew exactly what he was doing when he put on that EPDA (Extreme Public Display of Affection). ).

He wa sn’ t trying ng to get away with it, sneaking eaking around in the shadows, adows, wearing a mask in crowded areas so he wouldn’t ouldn’t be recognised.

Wearing a mask doesn’t even stand out these days.

He wanted to get caught. What a weak, pitiful scaredy cat. The end. Except… not so fast.

Yesterday morning, the day after the photos came out and 12 hours after apparently appar “heartbroke­n” Catherine felt her marriage was s “probably over”, Dom minic was seen arriving home, with his tail presumably very mu much between his le legs and a lot of e explaining to do. Ha ha! He was about to get exactly what he deserved!

Except… not so fast. A short while later, Dominic and Catherine came out and stood in front of photograph­ers on their doorstep. Together.

Against all the odds, they were literally Putting On A United Front.

Astonishin­g. Kissing cheesily for the cameras, like so many politician­s and their wives before them, they insisted: “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together.”

Reiteratin­g the veracity of the statement, they handed out a handwritte­n copy of it which they had both signed.

Nothing to see here folks! WTAF? The most perplexing thing is that even if Dominic and Catherine have an “arrangemen­t”, or we’re all being really uptight and actually it was all innocent (ahem), the very act of the doorstep united front is too much of a cliche to be believed.

There’s only one certainty in this extremely confusing situation

If Dominic and Catherine were hoping to shut down speculatio­n, intrigue and gossip, they have definitely succeeded – in doing the exact opposite.

 ??  ?? SMILES Dominic and Catherine. Inset, him & Lily James in Rome
SHOW OF UNITY Dominic West and his wife Catherine Fitzgerald kiss yesterday
SMILES Dominic and Catherine. Inset, him & Lily James in Rome SHOW OF UNITY Dominic West and his wife Catherine Fitzgerald kiss yesterday
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? PHOTO SESSION Kissing wife Catherine
PHOTO SESSION Kissing wife Catherine
 ??  ?? HOME MATCH Couple face the press
HOME MATCH Couple face the press
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? WHEN IN ROME He and Lily were caught smooching
GONE WEST Dominic and Lily rode a scooter around Rome together
WHEN IN ROME He and Lily were caught smooching GONE WEST Dominic and Lily rode a scooter around Rome together
 ??  ?? CAN’T MASK IT With h co-star Lily on scooter r
CAN’T MASK IT With h co-star Lily on scooter r
 ??  ?? INTRIGUE Married couple’s statement
INTRIGUE Married couple’s statement

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