The end of the road. Colin Firth and his longtime love, Livia Giuggioli, have chosen to pump the brakes on their marriage after 22 years, Us Weekly can confirm.
“Colin and Livia Firth have separated,” the pair’s reps said in a joint statement to Us on Friday, December 13. “They maintain a close friendship and remain united in their love for their children. They kindly ask for privacy. There will be no further comment.”
Firth, 59, and Giuggioli, 50, tied the knot in 1997. They have since become parents to sons Luca, 18, and Matteo, 16. (The English actor also shares son Will, 29, with ex-girlfriend and Valmont costar Meg Tilly, who he dated from 1989 to 1994.)
News of the pair’s separation comes after Giuggioli admitted in March 2018 to having an affair with her alleged stalker, Marco Brancaccia. Firth and Giuggioli confirmed the situation in a joint statement to Us that month, noting that they “never had any desire to make this matter public.” The affair occurred while the duo were quietly separated, however, they had reconciled their love thereafter.
“A few years ago, Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia,” the now-estranged couple shared with Us. “The Firths have since reunited. Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented.”
The statement continued, “As a consequence of his stalking, threats and refusal to desist, the legal complaint was lodged with Italian authorities. The reporting this week on this case is understood to be the consequence of a leaked court document. This is greatly to be regretted. It does not serve the interests of any of the parties involved.”
Brancaccia, for his part, denied the allegations made by Firth and Giuggioli. In an interview with The Times later that month, he claimed that the King’s Speech actor’s wife forced them to conceal the details of their affair. He also noted that their relationship occurred between 2015 and 2016.
“I wrote an email to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work,” he told the British publication. “In a year, she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary.”
The matter between Firth and Giuggioli and her alleged stalker was eventually settled out of court. The trio issued a joint statement through their lawyers to USA Today, which reported at the time that they were able to reach an agreement on “a private settlement.”
