Who is Dominic West's wife Catherine FitzGerald? How Lily James kissing pics shattered their 10-year marriage
Dominic West — the 50-year-old actor who starred in Showtime's controversial show ‘The Affair’ — seems to have stirred a scandalous real-life “affair”. Ironic, isn't it? The actor was recently spotted passionately kissing and cozying up to his latest co-star, Lily James, 31, in Rome on Sunday, October 11, 2020. Pictures of the two celebrities — currently filming the mini-series ‘The Pursuit of Love’ — were splashed across Daily Mail where they could be seen tenderly touching each other.
Paparazzi also captured them riding on an electric scooter around the city and eating lunch together. In one of the photos, West's hand was placed on her back. He could also be seen affectionately caressing James’ head, planting a kiss on her neck and stroking her as he flaunted his wedding ring free hand. As per the outlet, they also had their friend and mutual manager Angharad Wood for company.
Married to college sweetheart Catherine FitzGerald, the father of five tied the knot with his wife in 2010. Ten years ago, the pair got married in Glin, County Limerick, on June 26 after having dated each other when they were both undergraduates at Trinity College Dublin. It goes without saying that the controversial snaps soon sparked much distress in the couple's life. Although a separation has not been announced, the two were last photographed together publicly in early 2019.
Who is Catherine FitzGerald?
Born as Catherine Celinda Leopoldine FitzGerald in 1971, she was raised as a member of the Irish royal and aristocratic FitzGerald dynasty that originated in Normandy. Her father, Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin, was the last Knight of Glin.
The royal descendent — who grew up with two sisters Honor and Nesta — now works as a landscape designer and gardener in Ireland and the UK. She runs a garden studio with famed landscape architect Mark Lutyens. She has worked on plenty of landscaping projects with him including redesigning the gardens at Hillsborough Castle, Lansdowne Crescent, Clarendon Park, Holland Park Avenue, Glenarm Castle and St Olav's Church.
She dated Dominic while studying at Trinity College Dublin. In an interview with Belfast Telegraph, she said, "We went out together for six months, and we had great fun. He actually came to my 21st (in Northern Ireland), then he left and we split up." She added, "Our best friend was also at Trinity with us. We all went on to have separate lives, but were linked through our best friend, Dominic Geraghty, also an actor. And I went to Wisley, and did all this garden stuff and retrained. Then, when Dominic was doing The Wire, we met again through our friend Dominic (Geraghty); I was 32 then. I feel so lucky."
While FitzGerald was previously married to Viscount Lambton, the 7th Earl of Durham, in 1995, she divorced him in 2002. Meanwhile, West was dating his then-girlfriend Polly Astor, the daughter of Michael Astor, and had a daughter named Martha with her. Soon after, West and FitzGerald rekindled their romance when both had separated ways from their partners.
They had four children — Dora, 13; Senan, 12; Francis, 11; and Christabel, 7. In 2019, the pair bought Glin Castle, their 14th century ancestral home, to rescue it from being sold. "My children are surrounded by Irish wit and humanity. They have a far broader existence than they would anywhere else in the world," Dominic once said in an interview and the husband-wife duo has even renovated the castle and rented it out to superstars such as Taylor Swift and Mick Jagger.
Back in 2015, Dominic had said of his wife in a Vogue UK interview: "I think, really, what marriage is is two people helping each other to live the best lives they can. And that's what happened with me and my missus. That's why it works. She doesn't get jealous, either. If she were doing the scenes I'm doing in The Affair, I would hate it." He added, "She's incredibly undemanding in that way and it gives me a freedom I never want to give up, and I hope I do that for her, too." The couple reportedly split their time between a townhome in Shepherd's Bush, London, and Glin Castle.
What was her reaction to the kissing controversy?
The pictures soon circulated on social media and raised many eyebrows. A female friend of Catherine who came to console her at the family home near Chippenham, Wiltshire, told MailOnline on October 12 that she has seen the pictures and is “devastated” as she thought they were “very much together".
The source said, "Catherine has seen the pictures and she's devastated. I came over to speak with her as soon as I knew about them. Catherine has been trying to speak with Dominic but he's not answering his phone. She's totally shocked because she didn't know anything was going on. They were very much together, so this is completely out of the blue." The insider further added, "She thought they had a good marriage and now it's probably over. That's how she feels right now but the two of them need to speak but at the moment, she's lost for words."
A gardener also spoke to the outlet and said, "This is their family home and as you can see it's a wonderful place. They've got great kids and everything that you can imagine. Catherine was devastated when she saw those pics and they also left us feeling quite numb. It's a total shock to all of us who know them." A neighbor added, "To say she's in shock would be an understatement. She's heartbroken and has got nothing to publicly say. She needs to be left alone and have some time to herself."
If the pictures were not enough, Daily Mail also claims that a source revealed Dominic and Lily "spent two nights in a suite at the top Hotel De La Ville with a panoramic view over the whole city and just at two minutes' walk from the Spanish steps".
James split with her former beau Matt Smith in December 2019 after five years together. Recently, she was pictured enjoying a night out in London with Captain America star Chris Evans.