Moonflower Murders star Lesley Manville reflects on devastating split from Gary Oldman: 'The rug was very severely pulled from under my feet'
Moonflower Murders star Lesley Manville is back on our screens for a new crime drama, which is the follow-up to the whodunnit Magpie Murders. Adapted from the novel by Anthony Horowitz, the story follows Lesley as a publisher tasked in discovering the reason behind an author's death in the pages of his final novel.
While we adore watching Lesley in the hit show, the star has had a fascinating life, and recently spoke about her determination and resilience after the "rug was pulled" from under her when her then-husband, Slow Horses actor Gary Oldman, left her in 1990 after having an affair with Kill Bill star Uma Thurman.
Speaking on Desert Island Discs, Lesley, who was married to Gary in 1987, was left a single mother after Gary ended the relationship just three months after their baby son Alfie was born.
She explained: "I wasn't going to fall apart. I didn't fall apart. There was absolutely no question about it for me that I was going to carry on working and I was going to be the most brilliant mother.
"Somehow I did it, it made me incredibly disciplined about my work. Until he was three I only did plays which was quite good because I could be with him all day and then someone would come at 5.30 and I'd go and do a light play like Miss Julie!"
She added that she hid the fact that she'd split from Gary from her parents at the time, saying: "It was quite convenient that Gary was going to the States anyway to do a film so they knew that he was away. I just thought, 'Oh well I won't tell them because maybe in a few months it'll all be alright.' But it was a tremendously lonely time. The days before mobile phones, it was hard to speak to him.
"What I had imagined for myself, I'd always imagined being married to Gary for a long time. We fell in love at the Royal Court Theatre, we were having the most amazing time together, we loved each other. We got married, I got pregnant on my honeymoon, we got back and did the fantastic BBC film The Firm.
"We were having the best time then the rug was very severely pulled from under my feet. I thought we'd be together forever and have a big family. But maybe if that had happened, maybe I wouldn't have the career I have now. I think I'd have given up a lot for a good long marriage, but the price would have been something - I don't know what."
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Gary went on to have five marriages, tying the knot with Uma in 1990 before divorcing in 1992. He was then engaged to Italian actress Isabella Rossellini, but the pair never tied the knot. In 1997, he married model Donya Fiorentino, and the pair share two children, Gulliver and Charlie. They split in 2001, before Gary married actress Alexandra Edenborough in 2008. The pair divorced in 2015, and in 2017, Gary married his fifth wife, writer Gisele Schmidt.
Lesley and Gary's son Alfie is close to both of his parents, and Lesley previously opened up about their friendship after they were both nominated for Oscars in the same year. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Of course, everyone wants the story that I’m sour-faced about it. But I’m not remotely sour-faced. Listen, we have a child together, we’re a very successful family... he’s got a new wife, and we all get on. Everyone gets on.
"So it’s all fine. So we’ve had a delightful night. His sons from his other partner and my son are all very close, so it’s a family evening. And that’s what it felt like. Gary and I are friends, so it’s been very good and been very nice for our son, I think."
