It may not be by choice, but Natalie Portman has navigated her separation from estranged husband Benjamin Millepied in the public eye.
“It’s terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it,” Portman, 42, told Vanity Fair in its annual Hollywood issue, which was published on Wednesday, February 21, when asked about French outlet Voici exposing Millepied’s alleged infidelity.
Portman was gearing up for the release of her Netflix film May December when rumors swirled in June 2023 that Millepied, 46, had an affair with climate activist Camille Étienne.
Neither Portman nor Millepied, who wed in 2012, addressed the claims or speculation surrounding their marriage. In her Vanity Fair profile, the actress noted that she “can imagine” it was difficult that the reporter found it difficult to ask about her marital status.
Portman fueled the speculation when she stepped out at many public outings without her wedding ring. In August 2023, she attended an Angel FC event in Sydney, Australia, on what would have been their 11th wedding anniversary without her diamond ring. Us Weekly confirmed later that month that Portman and Millepied had separated, but were committed to coparenting their two kids.
The twosome met in 2009 while working on Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. After they wed three years later, Portman and Millepied welcomed son Aleph, now 12, and daughter Amalia, now 6.
A source told Us in January that Portman and the former ballet dancer started “having problems over a year ago” and that Millepied “would sometimes not return home and was taking work trips that didn’t add up.” According to the insider, Portman “began to suspect infidelity” and was “humiliated and utterly crushed” by his behavior.
Per the insider, Portman is now “taking time to focus on herself,” which is, in part, through her “non-Hollywood life.”
“I lead a very non-Hollywood life in LA. I live on the east side. I have some friends who are in the entertainment industry, but many friends who are not, and we don’t do industry things when we hang out,” she told Vanity Fair. “We’re not going to Hollywood parties, we’re having dinners at home in the backyard.”
She added, “I actually found that living there made my experience of LA much less ‘Hollywood.’ When I would visit, it would only be for work, and I’d be staying somewhere in Beverly Hills, and I’d be having industry meetings and going to industry parties. Living there made my experience much more rounded and appreciative of all the city has to offer, from nature to the arts, food to music, and of course, the people.”
