Awkward! McGregor thanks wife... and lover!
IF Ewan McGregor feels any awkwardness over the public disintegration of his marriage of 22 years, he wasn’t letting on at the awards.
In fact, in the same Golden Globes acceptance speech the actor thanked both his estranged wife Eve, 51, and the younger new girlfriend for whom he left her, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 33.
Recently divorced Miss Winstead starred alongside McGregor, 46, in the drama series Fargo.
Their secret romance – said to have ‘devastated’ the Scottish actor’s wife – was discovered after they were pictured kissing at a London restaurant.
Miss Winstead is even thought to have been invited to the McGregor family home for dinner last year, when Mrs McGregor was unaware the young actress had a crush on her husband.
After winning the best actor award for his role in Fargo, the star said: ‘I want to take a moment to just say thank you to Eve, who always stood by me for 22 years, and our four children Clara, Esther, Jamyan and Anouk.’
He then moved on to his new girlfriend while speaking about his character Ray, adding: ‘I’ve always loved being an actor and I got amazing actors to hang out with – and there wouldn’t have been any Ray without Mary Elizabeth Winstead.’
The American actress did not attend the awards on Sunday night, although she has been pictured with the star many times. In Fargo, they shared a number of steamy scenes.
McGregor’s wife and four children recently shunned him while on holiday in Mexico. His eldest daughter Clara, 21, posted a picture of herself in the ocean beside sisters Jamyan, 17, Esther, 16, and six-year-old Anouk, along with their mother.
She wrote: ‘My lil family of women. Thank you Eve McGregor – we owe it all to you.’
McGregor and Miss Winstead’s romance was uncovered in October. The actor was seen gazing into her eyes at a London restaurant before she held his face and kissed him.
In November, the actor, who is from Crieff, in Perthshire and attended Morrison’s Academy, was seen moving his belongings out of the family home in Los Angeles.
A production designer, Mrs McGregor is known for her work on films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
She met McGregor on the set of court drama Kavanagh QC in 1995, shortly before his portrayal of heroin addict Mark Renton in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting won him international acclaim.
Speaking in 2012, McGregor told the Graham Norton Show: ‘I knew right then that I really wanted to be with her and I knew I wanted to be with her in a different way to all the other many, many, many women I had been with up until that point. And I wasn’t wrong. I made the right choice.’
Miss Winstead separated from writer Riley Stearns in May.