NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup tied the knot in a low-key wedding at a Manhattan courthouse after being together for six years. The news of their union on social media prompted an outpouring of celebratory messages from their high-profile friends. This understated approach to their nuptials stands in stark contrast to Billy's previous romantic entanglements.
Two decades ago, the 'Morning Show' actor found himself embroiled in a headline-making love triangle and subsequent scandal involving Mary-Louise Parker and Claire Danes. Back in 1996, at the age of 28, Billy began dating Mary-Louise, who was 32 at the time. Their relationship blossomed during their collaboration in the Broadway drama Bus Stop and endured for nearly eight years, until 2003.
An unexpected love triangle
In a surprising turn of events, just two months before Mary-Louise was due to give birth to their first child together, the couple abruptly split. Reports surfaced suggesting that Billy had moved on with his former co-star Claire, who was 24 and 11 years his junior. However, his representatives swiftly denied the alleged romance, affirming that Claire and Billy had been friends for a decade and that she was still in a relationship with her then-boyfriend, Australian rocker Ben Lee.
Despite the denial, Billy and Claire were frequently spotted engaging in affectionate public displays of affection throughout New York City in the summer of 2004. These sightings effectively confirmed their relationship, even though Billy made a concerted effort to keep both his past involvement with Mary-Louise and his new romance with Claire out of the media spotlight.
‘It’s personal, painful and involves an infant’
Prior to a 2004 profile on Billy Crudup in The New York Times, the actor was asked about addressing the love triangle. In an email sent to the reporter, Billy expressed "I just want to make an argument for not including anything about the Mary-Louise Parker situation," explaining: "First and foremost it is personal, painful and involves an infant, and does not deserve to be exploited to state the appetites of circulation counters and bored readers".
In 2006, Claire and Billy ended their relationship, coinciding with Claire's meeting of her now-husband Hugh Dancy on the set of the film Evening. They publicly announced their engagement in February 2009 and subsequently got married in France later that year. Together, they have two sons named Cyrus, 10, and four-year-old Rowan, and Claire is currently expecting their third child.
‘I am pregnant and alone’
Since the drama surrounding the love triangle in 2003-2004, Claire has occasionally addressed her past romantic experiences. In a 2009 interview with the now-defunct Blackbook Magazine, she acknowledged the challenges of being portrayed saying, "That was a choice I made to fall in love. It's unpleasant to be cast in such an unflattering role [in the tabloids], but I just had to remain steadfast," adding: "I was living with the same kind of integrity that I had always lived with".
Mary-Louise, on the other hand, has discussed the matter less frequently. In her 2015 memoir titled 'Dear Mr. You', where she wrote letters to real and hypothetical men, she did not explicitly mention Billy but recalled an emotional encounter with a New York City taxi driver during her pregnancy. "I don't want you anymore," she thought: "No one does," and that: "My life is worse than yours at this moment," noting: "I am alone. Look, see? I am pregnant and alone. It hurts to even breathe". In September 2007, Mary-Louise adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia and named her Caroline Aberash Parker, expanding her family in a meaningful and significant way.
