Charles Dance has revealed that his 34-year marriage broke down when he confessed to his wife that he “succumbed to some temptations.”
The veteran actor, 77, said he was “enormously sorry” that his relationship with sculptor Joanne Haythorn came to an end when they divorced in 2004 after he admitted he had cheated on her.
The couple, who had two children together, Oliver, 50, and Rebecca, 44, married in 1970.
The charismatic Dance attributed his behavior to becoming an unlikely sex symbol after starring in the 1984 television drama The Jewel in the Crown and admitted he succumbed to his libido.
But he said he’s grateful his ex-wife was able to forgive him 18 months after he destroyed their three-decade marriage and they are now “best friends.”
Charles Dance has revealed that his 34-year marriage to Joanne Hayforn (pictured) broke down when he confessed to his wife that he had “succumbed to some temptations”.
He said he never saw himself as attractive, but his eyes began to wander when in the 1980s people started saying he was “the thinking woman’s bun.” (Pictured: Dancing on a beach in Venice in 2020).
Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast, she said: “For the most part it was a wonderful marriage, but then unfortunately I succumbed to some temptations along the way and the marriage ended because of my behavior.”
Dance and Haythorn were living in Somerset and spending their days at separate ends of the “huge” house, when he broke the news to her of his cheating past.
“In the end I had to confess it,” he said. ‘Because we lived in Somerset, in this huge place, and Jo had her studio at one end and I had mine at the other, and we became a bit like George and Martha (in the play) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Really after a while.
“I finally came back and thought, ‘really, we need to have a very serious conversation.'” And I had to confess it and it was a shock to Jo, bless her.
He told Brandreth that he never considered himself attractive, but his eyes started wandering when he played Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown and people started saying he was “a thinking woman’s bun.”
“I always felt very grateful if girls acted like they were attracted to me,” he said. But there’s no justification for it, you know?
‘In our business, Gyles, temptation often presents itself and you have to be quite balanced and composed, and not have a particularly powerful libido, not to succumb to it.
The charismatic Dance attributed his behavior to becoming an unlikely sex symbol after starring in the 1984 TV drama The Jewel in the Crown (pictured).
The couple, who had two children together, Oliver, 50, and Rebecca, 44, married in 1970.
But he said he’s grateful his ex-wife was able to forgive him 18 months after he destroyed their three-decade marriage and they are now “best friends.”
‘Then the marriage came to an end: a big regret. But after about 18 months, Jo and I, thankfully, became best friends and still are, thank goodness.
“I had a flat not far from where I live and we saw each other quite often, so in the end it all worked out.”
He confessed that it took him a long time to learn the law of cause and effect and that he would have done things differently in his marriage if he could go back in time.
Dance, who starred in The Crown and Game of Thrones, is known to have had several younger girlfriends. He was linked to Emilia Fox before her divorce, and was in a relationship with actress Sophia Myles, 33 years his junior, from 2003 to 2005.
Dance later dated model Shambhala Marthe, 26 years his junior. His next love was the painter Eleanor Boorman, 25 years his junior. They separated after she had a daughter with him when he was 65 years old.
He found love again with his Italian girlfriend Alessandra Masi, 22 years his junior.
Dance He described Masi, 55, last year as “fantastic” when he first spoke about how they met on the set of his film, The Book of Vision.
Former actress Masi worked as a production director on this surreal historical film that was filmed on location in Italy and Belgium.
He found love again three years ago with his Italian girlfriend Alessandra Masi (pictured), 22 years his junior.
Dance described Masi, 55, last year as “fantastic” when she first spoke about how they met on the set of her newly released film, The Book of Vision.
He added that the University of Bologna graduate now lives with him most of the time, “which makes me very happy.”
When asked what his biggest memory of the film was, he said, “To be honest, it’s meeting Alessandra.”
He added that the University of Bologna graduate now lives with him most of the time, “which makes me very happy.”
In an interview with The Times, Dance admitted that his joy at meeting her overshadowed the film, saying, “Well, a little bit.” Alessandra is fantastic. “I’m very, very lucky.”
The actor, who keeps fit by swimming on Hampstead Heath, told an interviewer in 2019 that he likes “beautiful women.” He added: “I like independence, I like strong women, women who survive and thrive in what is still a male-dominated world in most professions.”