Natalie Dormer Splits With Fiance Anthony Byrne After 11 Years

Actress Natalie Dormer and her fiance, director Anthony Byrne, have split up after more than 11 years together.

According to E! News, Dormer has confirmed that the couple has “parted ways since promoting the film [In Darkness] this summer.”

The couple first met on the set of The Tudors in 2007, and began dating that same year. After four years, Dormer and Byrne got engaged while on a boat in India when the director got down on one knee. At the time, Dormer explained that they had been “on a lake in the middle of nowhere” at the time.

Since then the couple has worked together on an off over the years on projects, most recently on In Darkness, where they served as co-writers. Dormer starred in the film, while Byrne directed it. Unfortunately, working together in such close proximity seems to have caused irreparable conflict in their relationship.

Back in 2016, Dormer warned against having to work with a partner in a writing room. Byrne echoed those exact same sentiments at a later date.

“Because we didn’t have an office or anything, we were in our own home writing, and then it would all kick off because we would disagree about something fundamentally or I would be a pain in the arse and I would challenge Nat, or myself. It’s very easy to go, ‘Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s going to be fine,’ and you have to police that and in doing so you end up being the bad guy and end up having massive arguments.”

Dormer also opened up about their 7-year long engagement that didn’t appear to have a wedding date anywhere in sight. Back in 2014, she pointed out that while most little girls dream about their wedding day and for most women it’s the one day in their lives that all attention is focused on them as they get dressed up, actresses lead a very different lifestyle.

“We get to be the center of attention, looked up and down, dressed up for premieres all the time. The pull isn’t quite as great,” she explained.

Despite their split, Dormer has only good things to say about her former fiance and added that her first foray into the writing and producing side of things is a positive that she refuses to have dampened by harsh critics of In Darkness. She explained to New Statesman that she learned a lot through the process, and grew a lot as well.