It turns out love, actually, has not always been around Colin Firth and his wife, Livia.
The Oscar-winning actor and his wife have been forced to issue an unusual statement that sheds light on their troubled past and also makes public a relationship Livia once had…
… with the man she now claims has been stalking her.
According to British newspaper The Times, Livia has been accusing an Italian journalist named Marco Brancaccia of “frightening” her with harassing messages.
And while these allegations stand, while the Firths are still adamant that Brancaccia has been acting in an inappropriate matter, the couple now admits that Livia has a naked history with him.
This is the statement they released on Friday morning to the press:
“A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr Brancaccia.
“The Firths have since reunited.
“Subsequently, Mr Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented.
“As a consequence of his stalking, threats and refusal to desist, the legal complaint was lodged with the Italian authorities.”
Colin and Livia got married in 1997.
The couple shares two sons together, 16-year-old Luca and 15-year-old Matteo.
The latter’s dalliance with Brancaccia took place at some point between 2015 and 2016.
A rep for the pair explains that neither half of this couple spoke publicly about Livia’s affair for “obvious reasons.”
However, when La Repubblica published details of the police investigation prompted by Livia’s recent accusations against her former lover, the two felt the need to address it.
Concludes the statement:
“The reporting this week on this case is understood to be the consequence of a leaked court document. This is greatly to be regretted.
“It does not serve the interests of any of the parties involved.”
For his part, Brancaccia has denied the stalking allegations, telling anyone who would listen that he had this sort of past with Livia.
But he didn’t stop there when speaking to The Times.
“We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me,” he told the newspaper, alleging that his supposed “stalking” consisted of two WhatsApp messages and an email to Firth once the affair ended and adding:
“I wrote an email to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work.
“In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary.”
Firth himself has not spoken directly about this hiccup in his marriage or this ongoing investigation.
One (who uses terrible puns) might say the situation has left this faux king… speechless.