Keeley Hawes's famous ex-husband revealed

Married for over 20 years, it's hard to imagine a time when Keeley Hawes and Matthew McFayden weren't a beloved power couple.

The duo, who first met on the set of Spooks in 2002, are proud parents to Maggie and Ralph, and together, they've created a beautiful blended family, following Keeley's divorce from former cartoonist and professional DJ, Spencer McCallum.

Prior to meeting and falling for Matthew, the actress had married her boyfriend of four years, Spencer, in 2001. It was December of that year that the pair tied the knot in an intimate ceremony held at the Marylebone Register Office. During their relationship, they also welcomed a son named Myles.

According to Matthew, the rising star had developed feelings for Keeley while shooting Spooks but clarified that nothing romantic had happened between them until her marriage to Spencer was over. "We weren't having an affair and it was a slow process," he told the Mail on Sunday in 2005.

"But I knew the effect she had on me. She's gorgeous. Everyone who meets her will tell you the same thing."

Keeley and Spencer announced their split in May 2002 and finalised their divorce two years later. In November 2004, Keeley married Matthew in an intimate ceremony held at the Richmond register office, and a month later they announced the birth of their first child.

While Keeley and Spencer were married for a short period, they've remained on good terms since their divorce and continue to co-parent Myles. Speaking with The Telegraph in 2010, Keeley raved: "Spencer and I were best friends before we married, and we've managed to stay that way.

"Happily, both my husband and my ex-husband get along brilliantly. They are both generous people, to each other and to the children."

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"Plus, I'm still great friends with Spencer's parents," she continued. "Myles has the most wonderful grandad in Spencer's dad and they go off bird-watching together."

More recently, Keeley was asked about the very idea of divorce in a chat with Red. "Divorce doesn't have to be messy," she said in 2018. "I think as long as people concentrate on children above themselves - which is difficult, I know - maybe that's the way to make it work."

Nonetheless, Keeley has admitted that divorce can be tough. "It was awful. But it was a long time ago now. And we have this wonderful son and my ex-husband is still one of my best friends in the world," she mused.

At the time, Keeley raved about Spencer and an unnamed girlfriend, who were living close by and regularly babysat for her. "They are just really wonderful, generous human beings who, ultimately, have always put my son and my other children first," she said. "And I can't thank them enough, really."