LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Natalie Portman and her choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied appeared to be inseparable even after a decade of marriage. However, on June 2, 2023, it was revealed that Millepied had an extramarital affair with a 25-year-old woman. Voici, a French publication, was the first to report about the scandal allegedly shattering Portman and Milliepied's marriage. The Oscar-winner actress is currently trying to keep her marriage with Millepied afloat so that she does not have any regrets. There was a time in her life when she regretted a major decision she took and it involved Roman Polanski.
Portman once expressed regret for having backed the director, who pleaded guilty to having unlawful sexual contact with a minor in 1977, years after she signed a Hollywood petition demanding his release from Swiss custody. "I very much regret it. I take responsibility for not thinking about it enough," Portman said at the time in a Buzzfeed News interview.
'It was a mistake'
The Oscar-winning actress, who has been actively involved in the Time's Up campaign to end sexual harassment in the workplace, admitted in an extensive interview with BuzzFeed that she once signed a petition in support of European filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Polanski was detained in Switzerland and could have been extradited to the US when the petition began.
In the interview, Portman admitted that she regrets her choice and that she didn't give it enough thought before signing it. The petition, which was made public in September 2009, urged "the immediate release of Roman Polanski." Over 100 movie industry heavy hitters, including Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Woody Allen, Isabelle Adjani, Wong Kar Wai, and Tilda Swinton signed the petition, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Portman explained, "Someone I respected gave it to me, and said, ‘I signed this. Will you too?’ And I was like, sure. It was a mistake. The thing I feel like I gained from it is empathy towards people who have made mistakes. We lived in a different world, and that doesn’t excuse anything. But you can have your eyes opened and completely change the way you want to live. My eyes were not open."
Natalie Portman supported Dylan Farrow
The actress also opened up about standing up for Dylan Farrow, who made multiple accusations of being sexually abused by her father, Woody Allen. The 'Black Swan' star stated: "I think there’s a direct connection between believing women about their own experience and allowing women to be experts of their own experience and every woman’s voice being heard."
Benjamin Millepied's alleged extramarital affair
Currently, Portman is trying to save her marriage after it allegedly fell apart by rumors that her husband, Millepied, had an extramarital affair with a 25-year-old woman. The French-born dancer and choreographer Benjamin, 45, and the 41-year-old Oscar-winning actor have been married since 2012.
A source informed Page Six, "They have not split and are trying to work things out. Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family. She is incredibly private. Her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids."
People magazine reported that Benjamin was pleading with Natalie for forgiveness hours after Voici published their piece. As per a source, "He knows he made an enormous mistake and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together."
