Following a complicated past few years involving a separation, an extramarital relationship, and an alleged stalker, Colin Firth and his wife, Livia Giuggioli, have decided to part ways after 22 years of marriage.
Firth and Giuggioli married in 1997, one year after meeting on the set of the BBC drama Nostromo. Since then, they raised two sons together in the Italian region of Umbria. Firth and Giuggioli maintain a close friendship and understandably ask for privacy, according to a statement provided to People.
The last five years have been a turbulent time for Firth and Giuggioli, who mutually separated between 2015 and 2016. During that time, Giuggioli became romantically involved with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia. All of this would have remained part of Firth and Giuggioli’s private lives had it not been for a leaked court document a subsequent court case, in 2017 accusing Brancaccia of stalking Giuggioli. After the relationship ended, Giuggioli claims Brancaccia began “a frightening campaign of harassment over several months.” Brancaccia denied the allegations.
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“The reality is that Livia and I have known each other since we were youths, then in 2015-2016 we had an 11-month love affair,” Brancaccia told People in 2018. “After it ended in June 2016 I never called her again. I did send her two WhatsApp messages, one happy birthday [text message] and an email to Colin, the latter which I truly regret.”
When police opened up an investigation against Brancaccia, they found “abusive messages and emails” on Brancaccia’s phone. Authorities officially charged Brancaccia with stalking in May 2018. At the time, prosecutor Maria Monteleone told reporters she believed they had enough evidence to go to trial if necessary. In July 2018, the couple reached an undisclosed settlement with Brancaccia.
“For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public,” a statement they released at the time reads.