Natalie Portman broke her silence on the rumors that that’s getting divorced from husband Benjamin Millepied because of his alleged affair. The May December star, 42, did an interview for Vanity Fair‘s 2024 Hollywood Issue published February 21 and was asked about the speculation surrounding the state of her marriage.
“It’s terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it,” Natalie said in the interview. When the reporter told Natalie that they “don’t love asking about it, either,” in regards to her alleged marriage troubles, the Oscar winner responded, “I can imagine.”
While she declined to speak on her marriage, Natalie — who shares two children with Benjamin, 46 — did open up about how she’s been splitting her time between Paris and Los Angeles.
“I find them very complementary cities. I love having both in my life,” she said. “I lead a very non-Hollywood life in LA. I live on the east side. I have some friends who are in the entertainment industry, but many friends who are not, and we don’t do industry things when we hang out. We’re not going to Hollywood parties, we’re having dinners at home in the backyard. I actually found that living there made my experience of LA much less ‘Hollywood.’
“When I would visit, it would only be for work, and I’d be staying somewhere in Beverly Hills, and I’d be having industry meetings and going to industry parties,” Natalie continued. “Living there made my experience much more rounded and appreciative of all the city has to offer, from nature to the arts, food to music, and of course, the people.”
Natalie and Benjamin, who met on the set of The Black Swan, and are parents to son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6, seem to have gone their separate ways following a June 2023 report that claimed Benjamin had allegedly engaged in an affair with a 25-year-old climate activist. “It was short-lived and it is over,” a source told PEOPLE last summer. At the time, the outlet claimed they were still together, with Benjamin attempting to mend things after the alleged “enormous mistake.”
“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,” the PEOPLE source reportedly said. “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.”
On June 10, photos emerged of Natalie seemingly wiping away tears while sitting on a park bench next to Benjamin. Almost two months later, in August, she was seen sans wedding ring in Australia.