LAURENCE FOX IS IN A GOOD PLACE FOLLOWING HIS TRAUMATIC DIVORCE
ACTOR AND MUSICIAN LAURENCE FOX TELLS ok! ABOUT HIS RATHER RUDE ENCOUNTER AND HOW HE IS IN A ‘REALLY GOOD PLACE’ NOW AFTER STRUGGLING WITH HIS DIVORCE
Laurence Fox has been very open about his mental health struggles following his divorce from Billie Piper in 2016. The couple share two sons Winston, ten, and Eugene, seven, and the custody battle that ensued drove him to a very dark place, triggering panic attacks and insomnia.
At the time he said: ‘The emotional strain was dreadful. For six months, I found it hard to sleep. I was in therapy for a while and it helped me cope with feeling raw.’
For Laurence, who hails from the famous Fox acting dynasty, it was his two boys who helped pull him through.
‘Just the thought of my gorgeous kids made me realise there was a life to be lived,’ he says.
The 41-year-old actor and musician also used songwriting to help him cope with his relationship grief and the result is his new album A Grief Observed.
OK! catch up with him at an intimate London launch held at private members club, The Groucho as he tells us about finding love again, fatherhood and flashing
Keira Knightley…
Your second album, A Grief Observed, has been getting rave reviews – who or what inspired it?
The album is chronological. I wrote the first song three and a half years ago when the divorce came through and the last song was recorded three weeks ago. It charts the downs into the ups. I was down and now I’m coming up again. I’m hoping
I won’t have to do that down bit again – at least for a while. Divorce is f***ing hardcore. At the time, I must have had that dazed look of: ‘What the f*** just happened here?’
What got you through your difficult time?
My extended family and therapy. You just have to have someone, to hold it all together for a bit. I was only alright after about two years following the divorce. But everything is working for me now and I feel very blessed.
After the split, you dated Vogue Williams and DJ Lilah Parsons. How’s the dating going now… After what happened, it put me off dating. I didn’t date anyone for a year. Now I do have a girlfriend but I don’t really want to go there. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have more kids but I’m in a really good place.
How do you balance being a dad with work?
With great difficulty, but I have a motorbike to get me to and from work. When I was appearing at the theatre in Bath I’d get on my 180mph superbike to race home to London after the performance. The following morning I’d wake up, do the school run, have a nap, get back on the bike and drive to Bath.
You sound like a great dad…
I don’t think I’m the best dad. In order to be a semi-decent parent, you have to know that you’re not a very good parent and try and improve on your parenting. I try and restrict time on their devices because tablet comedown is a killer, they turn into horrors. I like good manners and I don’t like people lying down at the table and eating with their hands. My dad was super tactile and very loving, so I’m very loving and tactile too.
What reaction did you get to your Celebrity Gogglebox appearance this summer?
No one gives a s**t about what I’ve done, but they love Gogglebox. I loved it too because I got to see my lovely cousin Emilia [Fox, the actress] once a week.
What other roles are coming up?
I’ve filmed a new Netflix drama in Mallorca playing a hippy drug dealer. I had to wear hair extensions. They’ve just been taken out and my hair underneath is really long. It’s doing my head in now.
What’s been your most memorable role? On my first day ever as an actor, I had to get my privates out in front of Keira Knightley in a thriller called The Hole. The stage direction was: ‘He’s naked and having a shower, she hands him a towel and he puts it around his neck.’ You get a good old glance of my c***. The guy who directed the new Netflix drama, also directed The Hole so we had a massive love in.
Will you ever give up acting for music?
I like to think I can do both. Music is a massive passion of mine and so it’s never a chore. You never know, I might be on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury next! You’ve got to keep plugging away. That’s what I’ve done in life and it’s served me well so far. LAURENCE’S ALBUM ‘A GRIEF OBSERVED’ IS OUT NOW