Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale made headlines around the world when they became romantically involved almost 30 years ago.
The British actors are believed to have met while touring in the 1995 production of stage play, The Seagull.
After falling for each other, the couple welcomed their first and only child together Lily Mo Sheen in 1999 but would split three years later.
READ MORE:Kate Beckinsale unrecognisable as she ditches brunette locks for chopped red bob
As Michael prepares to play Coleen Rooney’s lawyer David Sherborne in the two-part Channel 4 series Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Daily Star takes a look inside the pair’s ill-fated romance.
Early romance
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
Michael, now 53, and Kate, 49, were both promising young actors when they met on the set of Kate’s first ever stage production, The Seagull.
The budding actress took on the role of Nina in the touring adaptation of Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov’s famous play, while Michael took on the role of Konstantin.
Despite their four-year age gap, the couple went from strength to strength, with Michael dramatically defending Kate on the set of one of her projects in 1999.
Co-star row
(Image: FilmMagic)
While filming the big screen adaptation of Henry James’ classic play The Golden Bowl, Kate is believed to have clashed with her co-star Jeremy Northam.
The clash led to Michael reportedly punching the The Crown actor when he arrived on-set to pick up the couple’s six-month-old daughter.
Of the dramatic incident, Kate previously told Cinema: “Jeremy and I had a disagreement about something.
“So I’m also taking care of Lily, who was just six months old at the time, and I was still breast-feeding and then Michael came down to the set to pick her up and suddenly sees this man yelling at me. So naturally he got very upset and that was that.”
Of the spat, Michael also later told The Guardian: “It was because I thought he was being disrespectful to someone I loved.”
‘Difficult’ split
(Image: PA)
Speaking in 2020, Michael gave a rare insight into his split from Kate and the “difficult” logistics involved.
The couple unexpectedly went their separate ways in December 2002, with their two-year-old daughter Lily staying in the US alongside Kate.
With The Good Omens actor struggling to land work in the states, Michael admitted the combined career and personal life pressures led to somewhat of an identity crisis.
(Image: GETTY)
He told the Changes With Annie Macmanus podcast: “Going through that experience of a relationship breaking down and having a young child, and then because of my daughter and her mum living in another country, having to make a life in a new place whilst going through that whole experience which is difficult enough.
“I had no work visa to stay in America, so every time I left, I had to go back to Britain. I never knew if I would be allowed to come back in again.
“So, I ended up having to get work in Britain because I wasn’t really getting any work in America. It really made me question certain things about myself.”
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The couple’s split was also plagued by cheating rumours.
Months after her separation from Michael, Kate became engaged to the pair’s joint Underworld director, Len Wiseman.
The sudden engagement led to speculation Kate had left Michael for Len but speaking in 2012, Kate continued to deny the rumours.
She told Entertainment Weekly: “The popular notion of how Michael and I broke up — that we were on [the first Underworld] and I ran off with the director [Wiseman] — is just not true.
“If that were the case, I think it would be very difficult and peculiar to have an OK situation.”
Famous daughter
(Image: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Kate and Michael welcomed their daughter Lily Mo Sheen on January 31, 1999.
The now 23-year-old star has followed in her parents’ footsteps, forging an acting career which seems to be heading in a promising direction.
After starring alongside her famous mother in Underworld: Evolution and Click as a youngster, earlier this year, Lily starred alongside Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
She has also proved a social media hit, boasting 149k Instagram followers.
New love
(Image: Getty Images)
Following he and Kate’s split, Michael dated actresses including Rachel McAdams and Sarah Silverman.
The Welsh star dated School of Rock star Sarah for four years, with the couple eventually splitting in 2018.
He later sparked a romance with Anna Lundberg and amid a 24-year age gap, the couple welcomed their first daughter together Lyra in September 2019.
In May this year, Michael announced they had also welcomed a second child.
Kate split from her long-term partner Len in 2019.
She has since been romantically linked to a string of younger men including Matt Rife, Jack Whitehall, Pete Davidson, Jason Momoa and Goody Grace.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
