14 DAY TRIAL // The other day, one of Hollywood’s most talented and apparently solid couples announced that they had been separated for many months and would proceed to get a divorce. The reason why actress Kate Winslet chose to separate from her director husband Sam Mendes was not revealed to the media, but the Daily Mail argues one of Mendes’ new friends might have had something to do with it.
As of now, there are no allegations of cheating and Mendes’ camp insists there is nothing going on between him and actress Rebecca Hall. However, Kate did have a problem with their budding relationship, especially since it came in a context in which she was already experiencing problems in her marriage. Seeing the chemistry between Mendes and Hall only added to her insecurities and eventually forced her to call for a separation, the British tab writes after speaking to sources close to the former couple.
“When Kate found out that Sam had grown close to Rebecca she was upset. Rebecca is totally Sam’s type – a thespian mix of brains and beauty,” one such unnamed spy says for the Mail. However, a spokesperson for the acclaimed director stresses the “spies” are exaggerating facts to sell a story to the tabloids. “Sam and Rebecca are good friends, of course they are, they have spent the better part of a year working together on the Bridge Project. But to insinuate that there is anything further in the friendship is taking it too far,” the rep explains for the same publication.
“Miss Winslet and Mendes started having problems soon after the filming of Revolutionary Road. He directed his wife in the 2008 film which echoed real life as it followed a couple struggling with their crumbling marriage. Friends said Miss Winslet had been ‘very stressed and on the edge’ in recent months and was chain smoking as she tried to deal with the marriage breakdown. She is believed to have had support from her friend Leonardo DiCaprio, with whom she starred in Revolutionary Road,” the publication further writes.
Sam and Kate share the custody of two children, Joe (6) by Mendes and Mia (9), from Kate’s previous relationship. In the statement confirming the separation, both stars stressed they were more dedicated than ever to work things out in a manner that would best suit the children’s interests.