14 DAY TRIAL // “Gotham” co-stars Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin made their public debut as a couple at this year’s Emmy Awards. The next day, word got out that she was pregnant with his child, which made things very complicated with her estranged husband, whom she was in the process of divorcing.
According to the husband, Morena and Ben started dating while she was still with him, telling him that she wanted to work on the marriage. In her own defense, the actress is saying that her marriage was over before she got together with Ben, and that she plans to marry him once the divorce becomes final.
A messy but not salacious situation
The timeline of the romance is sketchy at best, as Baccarin got pregnant by McKenzie before Austin Chick, her estranged husband, filed for divorce, at a time when they were still together (according to the husband; she says he’s lying).
The divorce has been made more complicated by the ongoing custody fight over Julius, Austin and Moreona’s son, because Austin claims that she is providing a confusing environment, so she shouldn’t get custody.
The public might never know exactly which of the two is telling the truth in court documents, but it’s clear that the situation is very messy for all parties involved. What it is not, though, a pal tells the print edition of Us Weekly (story via CB), is salacious.
Divorces are never easy, and this one is no different, the Baccarin insider explains. This is nothing but a case of a disgruntled ex trying to make the actress look bad by claiming the marriage was over later than it actually was.
Morena and Ben are happy, looking forward to their new life together
According to the pal, the actress’ marriage ended long before the divorce papers were filed, so there was no overlapping between that and her new romance.
Speaking of the romance, it wasn’t planned: it just happened.
“There is nothing salacious. Morena and Austin were having problems for a long time and separated in the spring before things with Ben turned romantic. They started talking about divorce back then,” the pal says. “Ben was her moral support and helped her get through a difficult time. It turned romantic.”
As for the surprise pregnancy, the pal can’t say whether it was planned or not, but both Morena and Ben were “overjoyed” when they found out.
They are very happy with how things turned out and they’re eager for her divorce to become final so they can complete their current plans and get married.