Crown star Claire’s agony as she splits from actor husband
THE Crown star Claire Foy yesterday revealed that her four-year marriage to fellow actor Stephen Campbell Moore is over.
Claire, 33, said they had been separated “for some time” but the couple were keen to remain close for the sake of their daughter.
The British actress, who shot to global stardom playing Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix hit drama The Crown, said she remains “great friends” with Stephen.
She 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.”
The news comes just months after Stephen, 40, underwent life-saving brain surgery for a tumour on his pituitary gland.
Claire and Stephen, who have a two-year-old daughter Ivy Rose, worked together on the 2011 film Season Of The Witch.
They married in 2014 and were widely seen as one of British drama’s “golden couples”.
A friend said that after seven years together the split came as a “shock” but the pair were determined to remain “civilised”. It had been a “very sad period” but they had decided the relationship wasn’t working and a split was “for the best”.
Stephen made his name in the West End hit The History Boys as teacher Tom Irwin.
Claire’s iconic role portraying Britain’s longest-serving monarch, starring alongside Matt Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh, has propelled her to global stardom.
It has won critical acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic and a string of awards, including a prestigious Golden Globe.
It was announced in October she would step down from the role after two seasons.
Talking recently about his “eventful” life and health problems, Stephen said: “Having a child and her career becoming stratospheric, there’s been a lot of things going on at once.”
The actor, who also starred in TV series The Last Post and Ashes To Ashes, underwent a brain operation in 2017, five years after enduring a previous operation for a benign brain tumour.
He said: “Even the first time I had the operation, it almost bounced off me.
“They told me that it was a lot more dangerous this time, that there were a lot more potential problems. And then suddenly I was like, ‘Oh God, this is really killing me’.
“You realise you’re not the most important person and everybody who loves you goes through far worse.
“My daughter didn’t know what was going on, at all. But my family did and I could see it in them.
“There are certain things that you make sure you’ve done before you go into surgery. You write a letter.”
A representative for Ms Foy did not respond to requests for further comment.