- The couple have been together for 13 years but lived in separate houses
- Her rep said in a statement, 'They separated amicably earlier this year'
- They met in 2001 on the set of The Planet Of The Apes, which he directed
- The 48-year-old actress and 56-year-old director have two children
- Burton and Carter were last seen together on Saturday at Cats musical
It was always one of the most unconventional relationships in showbusiness – and now, after 13 years, it has come to an end.
Helena
Bonham Carter, the Merchant Ivory English rose, has split from her
partner, the eccentric American film director Tim Burton, best known for
writing and directing romantic fantasy film Edward Scissorhands.
A
spokesman for the couple tells me: ‘Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter
separated amicably earlier this year and have continued to be friends
and co-parent their children. We would ask that you respect their
privacy and that of their children during this time.’
Helena
Bonham Carter has split from her partner, Tim Burton. The revelation
comes after a slightly dishevelled Bonham Carter was seen leaving a
party last week (right) without her husband
Struggling: Bonham Carter appeared to be a touch worse for wear in the early hours of Friday
The revelation comes after a slightly dishevelled Bonham Carter was seen leaving a party last week without her husband.
There
were signs their relationship was in trouble last year, when Burton, 56,
was pictured embracing a mystery blonde, thought to be one of his
assistants, near his home in Hampstead.
At
the time the couple refused to comment. Recently, though, the stress
has clearly proved too much to bear, as evidenced by Helena’s appearance
last week. But it is not the first time concern has been raised about
her wellbeing.
A strange situation?: In September
2013 Tim was allegedly caught with a blonde lady after a dinner date in
London; Carter later said the report was 'nonsense'
‘Helena
was very upset at the Chequers party earlier this month hosted by
Samantha Cameron,’ says a friend. ‘Other guests noticed she was in a bad
way. She is really upset. It’s all still very raw and they only told
the children two weeks ago.’
Another
friend says: ‘Tim is having a classic mid-life crisis. All Helena’s
friends think he’s a terrible old cliche. Helena gave him a lot of time
to sort himself out.’
The
self-confessed ‘bonkers couple’ famously do not share a home, instead
living next door to each other in north London with their children,
Billy Ray, ten, and Nell, six. ‘The houses are joined,’ Bonham Carter
has explained.
‘He
always visits, which is really touching. He’s always coming over. We
have a throughway. Journalists think there’s an underground tunnel,
gothic. It’s actually quite above ground, lots of light.’
She
admitted, however, they only share a bed ‘sometimes’ because of ‘a
snoring issue’. ‘I talk, he snores. The other thing is, he’s an
insomniac, so he needs to watch television to get to sleep. I need
silence.’
The
couple have collaborated on more than seven films since they met on the
set of 2001’s Planet of the Apes, which Burton directed. ‘You were the
first person I thought of to play a chimpanzee,’ he told her at the
time.
Often
described as his ‘muse’, Bonham Carter, 48, went on to star in his
films Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, Alice in
Wonderland and Dark Shadows. In that time she morphed from a
self-described ‘corset bimbo’ into playing darker roles.
She
is currently reprising her role as the Red Queen in Alice in
Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, which Burton is producing.
Once
she got together with the scruffy Burton her public image was
transformed and she became increasingly renowned for her bizarre dress
sense.
‘I
feel like I have a reputation to keep,’ Bonham Carter once said of her
outlandish outfits. ‘I have a responsibility now to dress badly – so
it’s kind of liberating.’ Working with her partner, however, took its
toll. ‘It’s not without its pressures, working with Tim,’ she said in
2010 following their work on the first Alice in Wonderland film, which
Burton also directed.
It's over:
Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton, pictured in February 2013, have
split after 13 years together, her rep confirmed to People on Tuesday
Last time they
were seen together: Carter photobombed Burton when he was posing with
Nicole Scherzinger backstage at Cats on Saturday
‘It
worked on Alice. Sweeney was very stressful, very hard on our
relationship. He’s a partner in our private life, but when he’s
directing, he’s the boss. And maybe I confuse that.’
In
2005 Bonham Carter, great-granddaughter of Liberal prime minister
Herbert Asquith, also described the director as being on the autistic
spectrum.
‘Tim
will kill me, but while making this drama I realised he has a bit of
Asperger’s in him, you start recognising the signs. We were watching a
documentary about autism and he said that was how he felt as a child.’
With their children: Together the
former power couple have an 11-year-old son Billy and daughter Nell,
aged seven; here they are all pictured in November at London's Winter
Wonderland
Cutting a lonely figure: The critically acclaimed actress in bulky attire on Friday in London when she was Christmas shopping
Happier days: The twosome - he's 56 and she's 48 - embracing in 2010 at the British Academy Television Awards in London
It
is perhaps telling that Burton has just released his first directorial
live-action feature in 13 years that doesn’t star the actress. Big Eyes,
which is out this week, instead has Amy Adams in the lead role.
Burton
was previously married to German-born artist Lena Gieseke for four
years although the couple separated in 1991 when he moved in with model
and actress Lisa Marie Smith.
Before
Burton, Bonham Carter embarked on a relationship with Sir Kenneth
Branagh while he was still married to Emma Thompson after co-starring
with him in 1994 film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
The
couple separated in 1999. They were professionally reunited earlier
this year after he directed her in the Disney film Cinderella, in which
she plays the fairy godmother.
In
the early hours of Friday morning Bonham Carter was seen leaving PR man
Matthew Freud’s Christmas Party – apparently a little worse for wear –
alongside Angus Deayton and his wife.
However, she and Burton spent Saturday together, attending a production of Cats in the West End.
The Sunday Times Rich List last year claimed the couple had a combined wealth of £80million
More of a collaborative one for Tim:
In 2005's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, the British beauty worked
with Noah Taylor, Freddie Highmore and David Kelly
She gave it her all: The critically
acclaimed actress dove into her role for the 2007 film Sweeney Todd;
later Burton would say this film was hard on their relationship
A scar look for her: Carter as The Queen of Hearts in Burton's Alice In Wonderland in 2010
Another gem: In 2012 Helena co-starred with Bella Heathcote in Tim's drama Dark Shadows
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