Why Everyone Is Talking About Natalie Portman's Husband And His 'Enormous Mistake'

Publish date: 2024-09-28

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied are privately working through marital struggles after a new article was published in a French outlet. Voici recently claimed that 45-year-old Millepied had an extramarital affair, which a source at People said was "short-lived and it is over."

The couple remain together despite his "enormous mistake," a source told People.

"He knows he made an enormous mistake, and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together," says the source. "Natalie is incredibly private and has no intention of playing this out in the media. Her biggest priority is protecting her children and their privacy."

Page Six reported that the couple separated last year but managed to work through their issues. Neither have made an official statement about the allegations.

What Natalie Portman's Husband, Benjamin Millepied Is Accused Of

In early March, the French outlet reported that the Jackie actress discovered that "her husband was having an affair with a young woman."

The magazine published images of Benjamin Millepied and actress Étienne going into his office separately on May 24 before leaving the building ten minutes apart almost two hours later.

Etienne is friends with climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg and has made a series of short films on the environment, as well as writing the book “For an Ecological Uprising: Overcoming Our Collective Powerlessness.” She was also named by French Vanity Fair as one of the “50 French women who made 2020.”

Natalie Portman's Humiliation On Her Husband's Affair

Although Natalie Portman has yet to respond to the allegation, sources have stated that she is willing to work on their relationship.

“Natalie believes Benjamin’s affair was a brief and stupid liaison that means nothing to him,” a source told Us Weekly. It added that Portman is “willing to see if she’s capable of rebuilding her trust” in her husband to ensure that their kids don’t “grow up in a broken home.”

Another source revealed that she “doesn’t know” whether they will repair their relationship. “Right now, they are talking and working on it together for the sake of their children,” the source explained, noting that Millepied “regrets” his actions.

Natalie Portman was still seen out of and about in Paris wearing her engagement ring, even after the news broke. She was photographed attending the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros on June 7 in the French capital, still wearing her round diamond ring.

And a source close to the couple told Page Six earlier this month, “They have not split and are trying to work things out. Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family.”

How Natalie Portman Met Her Husband, Benjamin Millepied

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied met on set of the movie Black Swan in 2009. Millepied was the movie's choreographer and helped her learn the ballet sequences.

"I met my husband on it, so I think I was in, like, dreamland," Portman said during a SiriusXM Town Hall interview in 2018. "... He was teaching me to dance. You know, one of those romantic [stories] … It was definitely exciting and fun. It was beautiful. I don't know about instant. It was like I really got to know him and that was when it seemed like, 'Oh this is the person.' "

Controversially, he was dating and living with fellow professional dancer Isabella Boylston when he met Portman. He joined the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. In January 2013, the Paris Opera Ballet announced that Millepied had been made the position of director of dance, where he stayed until 2016.

Natalie Portman won a Best Actress Academy Award for her role in Black Swan. She dedicated her win to him. “To my beautiful love, Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed the film and has now given me my most important role of my life,” she said before pointing to her pregnant stomach.

The pair married in a Jewish ceremony in Big Sur, California in 2012. Following their marriage, the couple lived in Paris for a time, after French-born Benjamin became the director of dance with the Paris Opera Ballet.

Natalie Portman And Benjamin Millepied Worked Together On Vox Lux

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied collaborated again on her 2018 film Vox Lux, where she played a troubled pop star. Portman expressed her delight for working with her husband on the project.

"It was really fun because I think he knows me so well, and what my strengths and weaknesses are in dancing, that he was really able to create choreography very seamlessly and quickly because we had very little time," she said. "So it was very convenient that he knew me so well and that he's as talented as he is."

Portman also revealed she enjoyed the process and creativity of their collaboration. "It was fun to get to watch him create because I don't often watch him in the studio. Just to see the ease and the expertise that he has, and of course with different kinds of dance too, was really, really stunning."

The former New York City Ballet principal credited his wife with helping him prepare to direct his first feature-length movie, Carmen, which starred Paul Mescal. “Just being on set and seeing directors work with [Natalie] and other actors was very helpful, for sure. Seeing just how every director has a different way to achieve interesting performances,” he told Us Weekly.

“I think … the toughest part of the journey was really understanding why I was so attracted to making film as an artist … then now as a director and working on the script and then working with actors.”

Do Natalie Portman And Benjamin Millepied Have Any Children?

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied share two children together, a son Aleph, born June 17, 2011, and their daughter Amalia, born February 2, 2017.

She opened up about her family life to The Telegraph in 2013. “I’m less judgmental than before I had a kid. The biggest thing I’ve learnt is that parenting is a totally different experience for every single person"

She also opened about motherhood and working with children. “Everything is cool, there are no rules — I mean, apart from not hurting your kid. Some people breastfeed until their babies are five, and some don’t breastfeed at all. There are no rules about what it means to be a feminist, or a good mother. For some, it’s going to be right to go back to work, for others it’s going to be right to stop working completely.”

They celebrated their ten year anniversary in August 2022, posting Instagram messages to each other. “It keeps getting better,” Portman in her social media post.