NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Billy Crudup’s former partner Mary-Louise Parker recently reacted to the former’s wedding to actress Naomi Watts during a recent interview. “I wish them well,” she told The Guardian when asked about the recent nuptials, adding, “I honestly of course wish them every happiness because that’s my son’s father. So I’m happy for them. I’m happy they found each other,” Parker added.
Parker’s comment comes nearly 20 years after her separation from Crudup, who was accused of cheating on her with then girlfriend, Claire Danes. Reports suggested Crudup left Parker for Danes in 2003 when the ‘Weeds’ star was seven months pregnant with their child. The ex-couple share a son, William Atticus Parker, 19.
How long were Mary-Louise Parker and Billy Crudup together?
Parker and Crudup reportedly started dating in 1996 after starring together in the play ‘Bus Stop.’ They were together for seven years before parting in 2003. That same year, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. Crudup decided to leave a seven-month pregnant Parker after meeting Danes while filming ‘Stage Beauty.’ Parker gave birth to their son after their split and the exes decided to co-parent the child.
When Crudup was asked to address the love-triangle during a 2003 profile for The New York Times, the actor said that he did want to include the “Mary-Louise Parker situation” as it was “personal, painful and involves an infant.” He mentioned that the situation “does not deserve to be exploited to state the appetites of circulation counters and bored readers.”
Parker also refrained from addressing the situation and her separation from Crudup in public. She only gave a subtle hint towards her condition following the split in her 2015 memoir ‘Dear Mr You,’ in which she wrote 34 letters to different men she encountered during her life. In a letter titled ‘Dear Mr Cabdriver,’ Parker recalled about having a breakdown and lashing out at a taxi driver while thinking, "I am alone. Look, see? I am pregnant and alone. It hurts to even breathe."
Despite their bitter past, it is likely that there is no ill feeling betwen Parker and Crudup as the former had only good things to say to the latter on his wedding to Watts. The duo even appeared on their son's student film to support him. “He’s a creative engine and likes to write and direct his own material at school. One of his films recently starred me and his mom, so he gets all the best talent right there,” Crudup told US Weekly in 2020.
When did Billy Crudup and Naomi Watts start dating?
Crudup and Watts appeared together in the 2017 Netflix series ‘Gypsy.’ That same year, sources confirmed to US Weekly that the they started dating but their relationship was in the “early stages.” They made their first public appearance as a couple at the 2018 Vogue BAFTA afterparty in London before making their red carpet debut at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
While the couple mostly kept their private life under the wraps, Watts shared glimpses of her relationship with Crudup on social media on special occasions. Earlier in June, the ‘Mulholland Drive’ star took to Instagram to reveal that she had secretly tied the knot with Crudup. Watts shared photos of her wedding with the caption, "Hitched." The actress donned a white Oscar de la Renta Sweetheart Water Lilly Guipure dress while Crudup wore a navy blue suit. She also shared a photo of them celebrating their wedding with actor Mark Ruffalo and his wife, Sunrise Coigney.
