Hugh Bonneville and his wife Lulu Williams have split after 25 years (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock)
Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville and Lulu Williams have split after 25 years of marriage.
The 59-year-old Notting Hill actor tied the knot with Lulu, 55, in 1998 and has 22-year-old son Felix with her.
However, the pair have decided to call it quits, a spokesperson for the couple has confirmed.
The news comes after Hugh attended the wedding of his Downton co-star Michelle Dockery to Jasper Waller-Bridge last week, flying solo without Lulu and also without his wedding ring.
‘It’s a shame as locally they were known to be a very sociable couple,’ a source began.
‘Hugh has been away from home filming a lot this year. He has lost a bit of weight this summer, he was looking trim, tanned and relaxed.’
The Downton Abbey star and his wife share a home in West Sussex (Picture: PA)
The couple share a family home in West Sussex, but one insider has alleged that Lulu now feels as if the many years they have spent together mean ‘nothing’ at all.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, they said: ‘It is clear that Lulu feels as if 20-odd years of marriage counts for nothing!’
The Paddington star and his wife renewed their vows in Las Vegas’ Graceland Chapel in 2018.
Hugh previously reflected that he always thought he would be single for a long time, as he recalled that Lulu had been running a business at the time they met and it was his mother who put them back in touch.
He said: ‘I thought I would be a bachelor for years.
A source claimed Lulu feels their marriage now counts for ‘nothing’ (Picture: Nick Harvey/REX/Shutterstock)
Hugh and Lulu share a grown-up son (Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images)
‘I’ve often been the guy who doesn’t get the girl.
‘Lulu was running a marquee company, my mother rang her to hire some chairs or something and said, “Do you remember Hugh?” and that was how we reconnected.’
‘It did infuriate me that I had to give full credit to my mum for reintroducing us,’ he joked.
Lulu previously insisted that she and her husband – known for playing Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham – were not fazed by his celebrity status because they had known each other for so long.
‘I don’t take any notice,’ she stated. ‘I don’t notice women fawning over him — although I know everybody talks about it.
His estranged wife previously said her marriage to Hugh was ‘unfazed’ by the actor’s fame (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
‘Don’t forget, we met as teenagers and have a lot of history.
‘We’re not fazed by the glitz of the showbusiness world.
‘We are just home-loving people and don’t make a habit of hanging out at celebrity parties.’
Reps for Hugh Bonneville declined to comment further.