I hadn’t checked the British tabloids this morning, temporarily forgetting that there was a big, juicy split amongst a popular and prominent British couple – Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes. The UK tabloids are all over the split, trying to out-do each other with stories about “the signs” that Kate and Sam were over each other, and how they were never going to make it. Many seem to point to Sam and Kate finally working together as director and actress in Revolutionary Road as the catalyst for their marriage implosion. People has a run down of some of the newspapers/tabloids:
As news broke of Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes’s amicable split Monday, the couple was thousands of miles apart.
The distance underscored what the pair said Monday through their lawyers – “that they separated earlier this year.” The Oscar-winning actress was with friends and her children in Mexico (where the U.K newspaper The Sun pictured her recreating the arms-out Titanic pose on an inflatable dinghy). Mendes, 44, was reportedly with friends in New England.
They were seen in public together at the Wimbledon tennis tournament in the summer of 2009. Then last week, he was back in England visiting the National Theatre where he was in the audience of London Assurance, a source confirms.
Winslet was noticeably solo at this year’s series of award ceremonies, including the BAFTAs in London and the Oscars in L.A. Her red carpet appearances were in stark contrast to the previous award season when the couple was ubiquitous on the red carpets and, she, on the winners’ podiums.
In fact, during her 2009 Golden Globe victory best actress for her role in Mendes’s Revolutionary Road, Winslet called him “babe,” and enthusiastically thanked him. She said at the time, “[I] loved every second of working with you and it’s made me love you more.”
Now the British papers are abuzz that it was during the filming of Revolutionary Road that strains in their marriage began. The film happens to be about a couple in a disintegrating marriage.
Perhaps Mendes unwittingly gave a clue to the downside of living and working together when that same January, he told The Daily Telegraph it was “exhilarating” working with his wife, but, “I tend to cut off at the end of the day and watch a baseball game or something. I don’t like to bring work home. Kate is the opposite. So I just had to change my ways because it’s what she needed and my goal was to get the best performance I possibly could out of her and if she needed to talk about it, then that was my job, too.”
[From People]
I’m left with the impression that they broke up because Kate wouldn’t shut up. Is this fair? No. Is it true? Maybe. The Daily Mail did an in-depth report about the split, and they had some different quotes about the breakup:
A friend of 34-year-old Miss Winslet said she now plans to divorce Mendes, who is ten years her senior, saying: ‘That’s it, it is final.’
A source close to Mendes explained the break-up by saying: ‘He became bored working on his latest theatrical project, and he took that boredom home with him. And that led to the spark being taken out of their marriage.’
Mendes and Miss Winslet, both Academy Award winners, were seen as one of the movie world’s golden couples. The actress had taken the last 12 months off work following her Oscar success in The Reader, supposedly to spend time with her family. But the pair had not been seen in public together since an appearance at Wimbledon last summer and Miss Winslet had claimed Mendes was at home ‘babysitting’ when she attended the Baftas and Oscars alone.
The couple are keen to avoid an unseemly court battle of the custody of their child and their estimated £30million joint fortune.
The friend added: ‘Kate is devastated. She thought their marriage was for ever and now she has two children from two marriages and both are not living with their fathers.’
A source close to the couple added last night: ‘Things were extremely rough to say the least recently. Things went downhill after Revolutionary Road.’
[From The Daily Mail]
So, they split because Sam was a bored, grumpy bastard? You know what? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I think there’s a lot more to this split than what is being discussed publicly. I don’t buy the whole “well, they worked on a movie about a bad marriage, so that’s why they split” explanation. I’m betting one or both of them has someone else.
The Frisky is running a piece about who Kate should date now. The candidates: Leo (obviously), Jeremy Renner (bad fit, in my opinion), Jake Gyllenhaal (too young, I think), Ryan Gosling (same, too young, but he would be game), Jennifer Aniston (ugh, Kate could do so much better), Idris Elba (YES!!!) and George Clooney (DOUBLE YES, he should be so lucky) amongst others.
‘Cos she wouldnt shut up’? Well what a negative way to frame it… she was more than he could handle, possibly. That sounds better. 🙂
I’m sure Kate is going to surface with a young hard body. She will become the ultimate cougar of 2011!
kate was the one cheating. she’s done it before. and leave jeremy renner outta this. jeebus.
“…If she needed to talk about it, then that was my job, too.”
Kate: Did you FEEL how Leo handled me in that sex scene? You know you could.
Sam: Uh-hmm.
Kate: His tongue was soooo far down my throat, it tickled my uterus.
Sam: Uh-hmm.
Kate: It. was. Awesome!
Sam: Uh-hmm.
Kate: UH! YEAH!
Sam: Uh-hmm.
Kate: I think we need some re-takes.
Sam: …
Kate skips off the wring out her panties.
Dlisted had a Blind Item a few weeks back. Have been unable to find it but for some reason thought it was about these two. Something about a director she was sleeping with and that he taped it without her knowledge. She was keeping her mouth shut because she was married etc. ruin her image etc.
many marriages split after 7 years!
If you wanna go “Blind Items”, remember the one about the long married (by hw standards) couple who were done but they weren’t saying anything until award season was over and that they BOTH had boyfriends on the side.
Nikki, I remember that one. These two never crossed my mind re: that one though. I tend to think the marriage ended because Kate is more intense than Sam and he just couldn’t take it anymore.
Anyway, who cares?? I guess the Brits do but, really, neither is very famous in the U.S. Kate hasn’t been in a hit movie since “Titanic” and in that one she just got lucky!! I think the Brit rags are just annoyed because they didn’t guess this one. Now they’re going to punish them for it by printing nasty stories.
Wonder if Mendes thinks he can do better. He sounds like a dolt although I hate to say it. Begrudging husbandly duties?
I thought it was odd last year how much Kate gushed about Leo and barely mentioned Sam. That hardly seems like a good sign for a marriage. Maybe that upset him, or maybe things were already headed south at that point.
It’s amusing how blogs/tabloids are reporting the split as if they reported the “signs” all along. Nobody said it was weird that Kate went to award shows alone. If problems began two years ago, why was everybody saying they were happy and perfect during award season 2009? Tabloids have been really sloppy for the past few months. There are all of these breakups and meltdowns and they don’t have a clue.
I think we’re going to have to wait a long, long time (if ever) to hear the much, much more to this story.
He bugs me. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s there. Abrades me maybe, and not in a good way. 😉
I like her in movies, but in person, she seems grating too. Maybe they just ended up rubbing each the wrong way and abraded the bejeebers out of each other. Who knows?
He’s only 44? I would’ve guessed 54.
More Sam Mendes for me. I’m right over here, Sam. And, I have a screenplay!
Why do blind items why not just come out with the story. It’s more exciting that way.
It would be ironic if Sam Mendes, indeed, has a “man on the side,” since he made his name in Hollywood with American Beauty, in which the middle-aged male protagonist confronts his same-sex longings right before the closing credits.
And before that, he did Cabaret on Broadway – didn’t see that show, but the movie version ends by revealing that Sally Bowles’ two male lovers have also been sleeping with each other.
Life imitating art, maybe.
Sigh, good post – that was hilarious!
I was a fan since her first film ‘Heavenly Creatures.’ She’s a powerhouse talent, no doubt.
But when she got holier-than-thou with the child rearing and body issues (then BECAME what she pretended to find fake and unnecessary) I just got sick of her. She seems like kind of a condescending jerk in real life…
I’ll still watch her movies tho.
I hope the kids come through this ok.
They were both at Mendes’ production of As You Like It at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on January 12, 2010. Mysterious.
I’ll bet they’re going to go the amicable co-parent route- keeping their mouths shut in public about the divorce, able to spend time together for the sake of the children (I know only their son is technically Sam’s, but he’s bound to have a relationship with the daughter he’s co-parented since she was a baby).
I’m not saying they’re going to be like Demi and Bruce (who are way too close), but probably like Kate Hudson and her ex-husband.
Ooh, I want her and Leo please! He really needs to get over his model obsession.
Hmm, why does it always have to be the man who has done something wrong? Maybe she’s a bitch and not like her public persona at all./ Two sides to every story.
Maybe he got tired of dancing to her tune, maybe she got tired of sitting around…who knows. I wish them both the best from here.
Sandra Bullock was so humble and charming when she won her Oscar.
By contrast, Winslet was a twit when she won. She rubbed it in Meryl Streep’s face and acted like, FINALLY, she got the Oscar she had been DUE for so long. Annoying.
BTW, neither is qualified to hold Meryl’s jock strap. And look how gracious Meryl is when she should have about 10 Oscars by now.
I think she left him because she could not handle all that crap that is on his face. Shave that crap off!!!
The Daily Mail says it’s an actress called Rebecca Hall who Mendes has been working with for the past year. Now that I believe!
@ sigh….lol.
@candykay….right!?
I’m thinking if anyone steps out with Jake Gylenhaal, it’ll be Sam.
I’m not going to speculate on why they’ve decided to call it quits, as there is soooo very little to go on. What I will say is that Mendes is a leo and it’s likely that he needs more attention than she can or is willing to give him. He also may be intimidated that her career is more successful than his, thus far. Many men no matter the sign can’t handle that, but leos can get especially offended if they are insecure.
@25
Rebecca Hall?! Please let this not be so.
I think Sam must’ve been cheating around. He was a notorious womanizer before getting married. Maybe Kate, like many women, was stupid enough to think that he could change and he didn’t.
Anyway, it would be the coolest thing if she hooked up with Leo! Though I don’t see it happening. She’s not exactly the “ditzy-model” type he seems to like so much.
@PJ, it seems like I was right! I saw Hall in person once. She’s statuesque. Very tall and striking. But, if she’s doing “it” with Sam, it’s probably for to give an extra boost in her career…
I heard he was a skeevy perv anyway.
Kate can do better. She needs to hook up with someone young and hot to give her image a sexy boost.
Winsling anyone?
I like her and all but I’d seriously have to shank her if she got with Idris. He’s off limits to anyone (but me of course lol)
@ fluffy..that could be true. I heard that the marriage ended because she was bored? he’s a homebody and she’s not. Whatever their reasons are, I hope they remain civil for the kids sake.
Take a look at this man’s works. Mr Mendes doesn’t believe in family/marriage.
He has doubts in the perfect family myth. It is weird that a man with such a belief decides to marry and build a family. It is natural that he breaks it.
I would love to hear his takes on the popular perfect family myth which is so worthshiped by the American public, ie Obama family, and Brangelina.
I don’t feel sad at all. I don’t believe they feel sad at all. It doesn’t need to involve any cheating. It just seems natural.
Pls they should reconcile. They both look cute. Maybe bcos i have something for any man with golden hair..LOL
@J, I don’t think you have to “believe in the perfect family myth” in order to remain with a partner and children you love.
Brangelina are hardly the 1950s nuclear prototype. Even the Obamas have admitted they’ve been through some martial strains. Both are imperfect families in which the adults involved made the choice to stay together.
No wonder they broke up. Wasn’t she wearing another man’s ring right next to her wedding band?
“There was a well-known entertainment pair at the Academy Awards who sat together, occasionally holding and laughing together. What a nice couple! Not. They actually can’t stand each other and haven’t lived together in months. However, as one of Hollywood’s perceived stable couples, they are not yet ready to explain to the world that their long-time (by Hollywood standards) relationship is over. Certainly not in such a public setting. And if one of them had showed up solo, or with another escort, it would have brought up too many questions. So it was easier just to go together, pretend that everything’s great, and to go their separate ways after the big event… each to a new boyfriend.”
Maybe this blind item was not about SJP and Matthew Broderick, but about Kate and Sam…
he wasnt at the oscars malorie.