This is sad news, but I don’t know if it’s shady. I suspect we’ll find out if there’s something shady going on in a few months, but for now… it’s just sad. James McAvoy and his wife of nine years are getting a divorce. James, 37, and Anne-Marie Duff, 45, met in 2004 and married in 2006. All I can say is that there was little-to-no gossip about the state of their marriage. They didn’t shy away from appearing on red carpets together, but even then they always maintained their privacy really well. Also: there are very few photos of their son, Brendan, born in 2010. So it seems odd that they’re announcing their divorce publicly and seemingly out-of-nowhere.
James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff are calling it quits. The X-Men: Apocalypse actor and Duff have announced that they are ending their nine-year marriage.
“It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce,” the pair said in a statement. “We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son. We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child’s privacy during this time.”
The couple were married in a quiet ceremony on Oct. 18, 2006, and have one child together, son Brendan born in 2010. They met while working on the British television show Shameless, on which Duff played McAvoy’s character’s love interest.
I’ve often wondered if James is the kind of guy who screws around. I’ve never known if his chemistry with his leading ladies is just James being a wonderful actor, or if he’s seduced any or all of them off-camera. Right now, I’m going to veer on the side of saying that maybe-probably there was no third party involved in this divorce. I’m also going to theorize that the timing of the announcement – in advance of the big X-Men: Apocalypse promotional tour – is because James and Anne-Marie knew that there would be gossip when she didn’t attend the premiere.
Oh, and as soon as I wrote all of that ^^ the Daily Mirror claimed that McAvoy has been “getting close” to American actress Alexandra Shipp, who plays the young Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse. A source told the Mirror: “It’s no great secret how they’ve got close. James has been quite open among the cast and crew that his marriage was over – and it seems he has struck up a friendship with Alex since then. It’s been the source of some gossip among those connected to the film – but they’ve kept things low key.” You can see photos of McAvoy and Shipp together here at an event. They seem friendly, but the photos don’t seem to be evidence of an affair. Sources also say that McAvoy and Duff have been having issues for a while.
James did appear on Graham Norton’s show on Friday in the UK. They paired him with Jennifer Lawrence, whose oblivious-puppy routine certainly keeps the focus off McAvoy’s personal life.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmbXBlaoR5e8mapJ6rj6KwosLOspaapp6aeq6t0aKcmJylm7OgrdGelp2hpqS%2FpLXNoJaanqSav6C6yKecmLGVlr%2B0q86flqaZoqe2orPEaA%3D%3D