Together for more than 15 years, Liberty Ross always stuck by the side of her husband Rupert Sanders — but everything changed on July 17 when the director, 41, was photographed in a steamy tryst with the heroine of his film Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart. Us Weekly revealed the photos one week later.
"It's really shocking," a Ross insider tells Us. "She has been with Rupert since she was 18 — they got together when she graduated. He's the only love she's known."
Here, Us uncovers five details about the married mom of two whose world was rocked by her husband's indiscretions with Stewart, 22.
1. Moving to Los Angeles to further her husband's film career, Ross admits she's resistant to change. "I romanticized domesticity for a while and loved having a shopping list of groceries stuck to the fridge for the first time," she told YOU Magazine two weeks before the scandal broke. "But moving here and starting a life all over again was a lot harder than I had anticipated. I just didn't think it would be as isolating and daunting as it turned out to be."
2. Stewart earned her lead role in Snow White and the Huntsman partly due to her rapport with Ross. "Liberty really liked and trusted Kristen," explains a film source. "Liberty chose her to be in the movie based on how she and Kristen vibed and they got on well." Indeed, Ross confirmed to Celebuzz at the film's May premiere that "there is no better Snow White in my opinion. She is great." Ross landed her own small role in the film, playing the mother of a younger version of Stewart's character.
3. Prior to her turn in Snow White, Ross — who got her big break at 19 when Mario Testino photographed her for British Vogue — enjoyed commercial success as a model for lines including Burberry in her native U.K.
4. Family comes first for Ross and her husband. "They live a very modest life — no chefs or housekeepers. The family unit is super important to them," explains an insider of Ross and Sanders, who began dating when Ross was 18 after they met at a party.
5. She may live in Los Angeles, but don't expect Ross to go under the knife to keep up with the latest plastic surgery craze. "We're moving into a scary time where looking perfect is becoming normal but where do you draw the line?" she reasoned to the U.K.'s Daily Mail in 2009. "I think Botox is nuts — it's nice to have expression in your face."
