Is Melanie Griffith moving on from her estranged husband Antonio Banderas? She just might be. Now that she’s seeking alternative methods in temporarily covering up Antonio’s name from her arm, Griffith’s next step in tentatively stepping away from Banderas is apparently sharing an intimate dinner date with actor Matt Dillon.
Melanie Griffith dined with Matt Dillon in Rome on Friday, and she seemed to be enjoying his company. This is just two weeks after filing for divorce from Antonio Banderas, who she was married to for eighteen years.
As of right now, we don’t know whether or not anything will come out of Griffith’s dinner date with Matt Dillon, but the actress did seem to be in a good mood when she was out with the Crash actor. The pair even shared a friendly hug before leaving the restaurant.
In the photos that are now circulating , it looks like Melanie Griffith and Matt Dillon are catching up. The two actors were in town for the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily and decided to meet up in Rome for a quick meal.
Look away Antonio! Melanie Griffith has cozy dinner with actor Matt Dillon… and lights up a cig… http://t.co/zd4Y57Mwgn #TheIrfanism
— Irfan Ahmed (@iffirepublic) June 21, 2014
As we previously reported, after eighteen years of marriage, Griffith and Banderas made a joint statement about their split:
“We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalize our almost twenty year marriage in a loving and friendly manner honoring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together.”
US Weekly insinuated that this shouldn’t come as a shocker, and their marriage has been on the rocks for a while.
A source told the magazine:
“There was no cheating on either side. They had fallen out of love awhile ago. Their daughter Stella is about to be 18 in September and they wanted to wait until [the] kids were grown and out of the house before they split up, but knew they would awhile ago. They stayed together for the sake of the kids.”
Although the source claims that there was no cheating involved, there were rumors back in the day about Antonio’s infidelity, which he ultimately opened up about in an AARP interview. In addition, Griffith had her own issues with addiction. Back in 2010, Melanie checked into rehab for the third time. In 2011, Banderas eluded to those problems in the marriage .
“The pretending is the worst, because kids are so smart. They can see through all of those things, and if you don’t talk openly about problems, it creates a very dark place. They carry that through the rest of their lives, to their marriages, to their kids.”
Aside from her love life, it looks like Melanie Griffith is on track to getting her career back. This summer she’s being directed by Meg Ryan in Ithaca .
[Image via Nata Sha / Shutterstock.com ]