All good things must come to an end. Elle Fanning and Max Minghella have split after more than four years of dating.
Fanning, 24, confirmed the news in a Harper’s Bazaar U.K. interview published on Tuesday, April 4. The Great star noted that despite the recent heartbreak, she is still “a hopeless romantic.” She continued: “I believe in love at first sight. Call me crazy, but I believe in those things. I feel that it’s my destiny.”
The Georgia native and Minghella, 37, first sparked dating rumors in 2018 after they were spotted holding hands in Florence, Italy. Later that summer, photos of the pair packing on the PDA in Minghella’s native London seemed to confirm that they were an item.
“They seemed so relaxed and comfortable,” an onlooker told Us Weekly after the couple were spotted on a dinner date early in their relationship. ”They were very low-key and cozy with each other, and looking over for one another and chatting quietly to each other when they were together looking at stuff.”
The low-profile duo kept their relationship largely out of the public eye, but Minghella couldn’t help but gush over Fanning after he directed her in the 2018 movie Teen Spirit. That April, he told Us that he didn’t think the film “would be finished” without her exemplary performance.
“Genuinely, I’m not being hyperbolic,” he said at the time. “I don’t think we would have gotten through the shoot, because if we didn’t have one of those shots, the movie wouldn’t cut together, so I’m really grateful to have somebody as brilliant [as her] in this kind of dream project.”
The I Am Sam actress, for her part, tried to keep their romance private as well. “I mean, we just really love working together,” she coyly told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “That was, like, very special, and he’s such a good friend.”
In June 2019, however, the pair attended the Met Gala together. From then on, the actors were often spotted holding hands in public.
In January 2023, a source exclusively told Us that the twosome were “in a better place than ever,” noting that their 12-year age difference wasn’t “an issue at all.” The insider continued: “Elle loves how mature and intelligent Max is. He’s a real intellect with a big passion for arts and culture.”
One month prior, Fanning and the Handmaid’s Tale actor made a rare red carpet appearance together for Minghella’s film Babylon. The Super 8 actress wore a black vintage Alexander McQueen gown for the occasion, matching her then-boyfriend’s pinstripe suit.
