Who Was Emma Thompson's Ex, Kenneth Branagh? Inside Their Marriage, Affair Drama, Trump's Date Offer

Hollywood’s legendary Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson is grabbing headlines after her sizzling revelations in a recent interview, where she stated that American President Donald Trump had asked her out on a date the very day she got divorced from her ex-husband, British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh. The duo were one of Britain’s cultural power couples in the late 1980s and early 1990s before their shocking split. 

But behind the curtain, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh’s marriage was far from the fairy tale fans imagined. What began as an intense artistic connection eventually became strained under the weight of their demanding careers, fame, and public scrutiny. However, the breaking point in the marriage came with one of British entertainment’s most talked-about scandals: Branagh’s affair with Helena Bonham Carter while still married to Thompson.

Thompson once revealed that her role in Love Actually, one of her most acclaimed performances, mirrored her real-life heartbreak with ex-husband Kenneth Branagh. Discovering his relationship with Helena Bonham Carter left her feeling ‘half alive’, a pain that took years to heal. Now, amid buzz over Donald Trump’s unusual dinner invite to Thompson, we revisit her marriage that ended in one of British entertainment’s most public splits.

Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh’s relationship began with an instant connection behind the scenes

Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh’s relationship dates back to 1987, when the two met for the first time on the set of the BBC series Fortunes of War. The actress later remembered being instantly struck by the British actor’s ‘incandescent ambition and performance energy’. They clicked almost instantly, and the intensity of their creative connection was unmatched. 

The duo’s electric chemistry became a frequent topic of conversation during their time working together. In a 2022 interview with The New Yorker, Thompson recalled first falling for Branagh on the set of Fortunes of War, describing the two-year courtship that followed. She was quoted as saying:

“He was incandescent with ambition and performance energy… Like two mating lobsters, we clashed claws.”

After two years of dating, Thompson and Branagh married in August 1989, later co-starring in acclaimed works like Henry V, Dead Again, and Much Ado About Nothing. Their on and off-screen chemistry made them one of Britain’s most celebrated acting duos of the late 80s and early 90s. Yet, behind the curtain, cracks had already begun to form, hinting at trouble in their seemingly perfect marriage.

The affair scandal that left Emma Thompson shattered

Despite their seemingly perfect relationship, the couple announced their separation in September 1995, citing their demanding work schedules that clashed with their personal lives. While the news came as a shock to the industry, the real reason behind Thompson and Branagh’s split was revealed soon after. 

Not long after their divorce, it was revealed that Kenneth Branagh had formed a romantic connection with renowned actress Helena Bonham Carter during the filming of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1994. Speaking to The New Yorker, the actress shared:

"I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set. What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself… Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely."

It was actor Greg Wise, her co-star in Sense & Sensibility, who helped ‘pick up the pieces and put them back together.’ The two wed in 2003 and remain together.

Emma Thompson made peace with Helena Bonham Carter

While the initial heartbreak of her ex-husband’s affair was unbelievably raw and left Emma Thompson shattered, she eventually chose forgiveness. In a 2018 interview with The Sunday Times, Thompson called the whole chapter ‘blood under the bridge’, revealing that she and Helena had reconciled years ago and that she held no hard feelings toward either Helena or Kenneth. She said:

"That is… all blood under the bridge. You can't hold on to anything like that… It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it… Helena and I made our peace years and years ago… she's a wonderful woman."

Years later, all three of them appeared in the Harry Potter franchise. Who doesn’t remember the iconic ‘Sybill Trelawney’? For those who didn’t know, that eccentric fortune teller was none other than Emma Thompson. On the other hand, Branagh starred as ‘Gilderoy Lockhart’ in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, while Bonham Carter became the notorious ‘Bellatrix Lestrange’ in the last four films of the franchise, from Order of the Phoenix to Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

Why the Love Actually role was more personal for Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson’s portrayal of a heartbroken wife in Love Actually resonated deeply with the audience, even landing her a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Thompson shared years later that those emotions were more a reflection of her personal life and the pain she had endured after finding out about her ex-husband’s infidelity. Speaking to The Telegraph in 2018, Emma shared how she had a ‘practice’ for the role. She said:

“I’ve had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom, then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer.”

When Donald Trump asked Emma Thompson out on the same day of her divorce

In a recent interaction at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on August 8, 2025, Emma Thompson made a startling revelation that America’s current president, Donald Trump, had made a call with a dinner invitation on the very day her divorce decree came through. She shared:

“He said, ‘I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner..’. I realised that on that day, my divorce decree had come through. And I bet he’s got people looking for suitable people he could take out on his arm. You know, a nice divorcée, that’s what he was looking for. And he found the number in my trailer. I mean, that’s stalking.”

Today, Thompson is way ahead of the drama and scandal, finding peace with actor Greg Wise. The duo have been happily married for over two decades and share two children, Gaia Wise and Tindyebwa Agaba Wise. Meanwhile, Kenneth Branagh found his forever in Lindsay Brunnock, whom he married in 2003.

Read Next: Who Is 'Prison Break' Actor, Dominic Purcell? Married To Tish Cyrus And Diagnosed With Skin Cancer

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)