Alex Kingston, who is making her Strictly Come Dancing debut tonight (Saturday, September 20), has had three husbands and some much-publicised heartbreaks.
From an affair scandal involving her Hollywood star ex-husband, to undergoing 13 rounds of “tough” IVF, here’s an inside look at Alex‘s love life…
Strictly star Alex Kingston’s love life – her first marriage
Alex, 62, who is best known for her roles as Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER and River Song in Doctor Who, has been married three times.
Her first marriage was to Hollywood star Ralph Fiennes. Ralph is perhaps best known for his role as Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies.
The former couple met at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the 1980s. They were together for 10 years before tying the knot in 1993.
“When we were together, his star was so much brighter than mine. I was doing theatre; he was getting big parts in film. The stardom thing became a problem, but there was never any sense of competition between us as actors,” she told The Telegraph in 2003.
“I mean, he’s a guy and I’m a girl, so we weren’t trying to get the same parts. I was very supportive of his work. And when we married, I thought it was forever.”
Affair scandal
However, in 1995, Ralph, now 62, began an affair with his Hamlet co-star Francesca Annis, who was 18 years his senior.
Alex and Ralph separated in 1996 and divorced in 1997. Ralph then went on to marry Francesca, although they split in 2006.
In an interview in 2006 with the Evening Standard, Alex confessed that her marriage split from Ralph had left her feeling suicidal.
“I can’t imagine being that person at all,” she said years later. “You don’t know where life is going to take you. You think you know, and then all of a sudden you realise it’s all completely wrong.”
The star also admitted in separate interviews that she’d been forced to flee London to escape her memories of him, and couldn’t watch any of his performances.
However, in the interview, she revealed that she was able to watch him now. “I actually went to see The Constant Gardener – the first time I have seen him on film since we split up – and I was able to sit through it and really enjoy the movie, just thinking, oh, there’s a fantastic actor on screen. But there was no other reaction whatever. Which is quite a good thing, I guess,” she said.
Second marriage and trying for a baby
In 1998, now based in the US, Alex tied the knot with Florian Haertel, a German writer and freelance journalist. They’d met the year prior in LA on a blind date that had been set up by friends.
Alex had previously tried for a child with Ralph; however, it wasn’t to be. In 1999, six months after tying the knot with Florian, they tried for a baby. However, nothing happened.
“The doctors hadn’t found anything medically wrong, so I thought maybe the chemistry between my first husband and I was wrong. So when I met Florian I assumed, I suppose rather naively, that it would all be fine and we’d have a baby very quickly,” she told The Guardian in 2004.
“I almost wish I had been told I have polycystic ovaries or blocked tubes – a reason why. When you’re told there’s no explicable reason you start to think there’s something wrong with me mentally, I’m blocking this, I’ve done this to myself,” she then continued.
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‘Tough’ IVF journey
In the interview, Alex admitted that the stress caused by her inability to fall pregnant with Ralph could have contributed to their marriage breaking down. However, things with Florian were different.
“We actually became much closer. The difference between my trying to conceive with my first husband and my second husband was that Florian was incredibly involved in what we were doing. It felt like something we were doing together – he gave me 100% support,” she said.
Florian and Alex began IVF, which she had to fit in around her busy schedule acting in ER.
In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2014, Alex opened up about her “tough” IVF journey. “I went through about 13 rounds of IVF before I got pregnant with [daughter] Salome; it was very tough,” she said.
“You are so desperate, you don’t really understand what the long-term side effects can be. That’s what they don’t tell you in the medical profession. I put on weight with all the IVF – it’s insidious because it happens so slowly and then it’s almost impossible to get rid of it. I was also perimenopausal very early; I have no proof, but I feel that it was linked to the IVF and the different hormones I was taking. There are things that I think aren’t fully explained to women when they are going through all that.”
Failed adoption attempts
In 2009, Alex revealed that she wanted more children; however, her husband, Florian, wasn’t willing to go down the IVF route again.
“If I had more kids I would be happy to be a full-time mum. But that’s not going to happen. My husband isn’t prepared to go down the IVF road again,” she told the Daily Mail at the time.
She also revealed that two adoption attempts had failed.
“People assume that celebrities can adopt babies as easily as Angelina Jolie. But they don’t hear about the ones who aren’t successful because we don’t like talking about it, it’s too painful,” she said.
“I would try again in a heartbeat. But my husband won’t. Maybe he’ll change his mind, but at the moment he can’t.”
Alex Kingston’s love life – marriage split and third husband
In 2009, after 11 years of marriage, Alex and Florian separated. In 2013, the divorce was finalised.
Then, in 2015, Alex tied the knot with her third husband, TV producer Jonathan Stamp. The actor walked down the aisle in the All Saints Anglican Church in Rome.
After daughter Salome completed her education, Alex moved back to the UK in 2019.
Speaking to The Stage in 2019, she said: “I’d been doing this massive commute most of the time because I was working over here a lot. But, culturally, despite Brexit, I feel happier here.”
Catch Alex on Strictly tonight (Saturday, September 20) from 6.40pm on BBC One.
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