Actress spotted without commitment ring that she never “takes off”

Feb 1, 2010 07:03 GMT  ·  By

Hollywood stunner Charlize Theron and Irish actor Stuart Townsend are no longer an item after dating for about nine years. Though no announcement regarding this was yet made officially, Charlize has been photographed on a couple of occasions without the commitment ring Townsend gave her and that she reportedly said she would never take off, the Daily Mail informs.

The two were not married but that was only because neither thought marriage would change anything about the way they felt for each other, or that it would, somehow, make their relationship better. As far as they were concerned, they were husband and wife and did not need a marriage license to prove it. What they did have as a symbol of their commitment to each other was a ring Townsend gave the actress and that she promised never to take off for as long as they were together.

Last weekend, during the Hope for Haiti telethon, Charlize first appeared without the ring. “The stunning 5ft 11in South African has told close friends that she decided to split from the Irish actor following a Christmas trip to Mexico and has since stopped wearing the antique ‘commitment ring’ that Townsend gave her as a symbol of their relationship,” the Mail writes. Details of the split, coming from sources close to the couple, would indicate that being the breadwinner in the couple also took its toll on the relationship and eventually prompted Charlize to break it off.

“Stuart is gutted but Charlize said that she realized during the Mexican holiday that the relationship was over. They had become more like brother and sister than lovers. It was she who ended it. […] Charlize has never made a big deal of it, but the truth of the matter is that she has been the major breadwinner. She truly loved Stuart but the relationship ran its course. He is heartbroken but she is insisting it is all over,” an unnamed source says for the British publication.

Apparently, right now, Townsend has already moved out and the two former lovers are looking to settle all financial aspects. Since they were together for no less than 9 years, a reason for which they were also considered one of the strongest couples in Hollywood, it’s understandable that their finances are intertwined, the same source explains.