Elle Fanning and Max Minghella have gone their separate ways after five years of dating. The 24-year-old The Girl From Plainville star confirmed that she and the Handmaid’s Tale actor, 37, broke up in a chat with Harper’s Bazaar U.K. published on April 4. “But I’m a hopeless romantic,” she said, feeling positive about her future. “I believe in love at first sight. Call me crazy, but I believe in those things. I feel that it’s my destiny.”
She also noted that she would like to start a family one day while reflecting on playing a pregnant Russian empress, Catherine the Great, in the Hulu series, The Great. “I had a bespoke bump with boobs molded onto me that went all the way up to my neck. The costume team told me that this is pretty accurately what my body will look like when I’m pregnant,” Elle noted. “I loved the way it looked. It made me want to do it, to be pregnant.”
Elle and Max first met while filming 2018’s Teen Spirit and sparked romance rumors when they were seen together on a walk in London. However, in April 2019, the younger sister of Dakota Fanning said they were just friends. “I mean, we just really love working together … and he’s such a good friend,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
During the same interview, Max raved about Elle’s performance in the film. “You have to be able to sing, you have to be able to dance, you’ve got to, you know, be able to speak Polish convincingly, do the British accent, play the age range and carry the movie with an incredibly nuanced performance. It’s a lot for one person, and she just handled everything with such discipline and professionalism and she never complained,” he gushed.
Elle and Max then posed together at the 2019 Met Gala and walked the red carpet at the Babylon premiere in 2022.
In January, a person close to the couple said they were doing better than ever. “The age difference isn’t an issue at all,” the insider told Us Weekly. “Elle loves how mature and intelligent Max is. He’s a real intellect with a big passion for arts and culture.”
The source even said that engagement was in their future. “Nobody would be surprised if Max proposes soon,” they hinted. “Elle would most likely love that too, but he’s keeping those cards close to his chest.”