Here's a tough question: If you were in a serious relationship, and you found out your partner cheated on you, would that be a dealbreaker, or would you take your partner back? On one hand, cheating is the ultimate betrayal of trust. On the other hand, maybe you could work out your issues through therapy. And here's another tough question: Would you hook up with your creepy stalker? (When he follows you home and spies on you through your window, that means he loves you!)
These hypothetical questions spring from a real story, about Colin Firth and Livia Guiggioli. You know Colin from movies like The King's Speech, A Single Man and Bridget Jones' Diary. Meanwhile, Livia is an Italian movie producer and director. The couple has been married for two decades, but confirmed that Livia had an affair with her stalker - longtime friend and journalist Marco Brancaccia.
The affair between Livia and Marco happened a couple years ago, but reports about it only recently became public, due to leaked court documents. In a statement, a representative for the couple revealed that they have since reunited, and that Marco "carried out a frightening campaign of harassment," threatening to ruin their marriage.
"For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public. A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited.
Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented. As a consequence of his stalking, threats and refusal to desist, the legal complaint was lodged with the Italian authorities."
It is suspected that the court documents leaked as a result of the complaint.
Marco denies the stalking allegations, and accuses Livia of making them up. He says he only sent her two WhatsApp messages, as well as an email admitting the affair to Colin. According to him, Colin was "understanding" about it because their marriage was "over for years." In a statement to The Times, he implied that Livia was really the stalker:
"In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary.. We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me."
Anyway, now the couple is back together, and Marco is the subject of a police investigation. So, sorry, ladies. There was a brief period when Colin Firth was available, but since they separated in secret, nobody knew until now. I know, it's a real bummer. But hey, at least we learned two valuable lessons: Cheating isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, and you should probably avoid hooking up with your stalker. Now those tough questions are a little bit easier.
In a related story, Colin Firth regrets not reveals he regrets not acting on Harvey Weinstein story he heard 20 years ago...