Dominic West has admitted his ‘biggest sadness’ is splitting from the mother of his first child – despite the fact that he went on to marry his current wife.
The Wire star, 56, is married to aristocrat Catherine FitzGerald and the pair share four children.
But speaking on the Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast, Dominic opened up about the painful split from his former girlfriend Polly Astor, revealing he felt ‘too young’ at 28 to settle down after she gave birth to their daughter, Martha.
Asked if the end of his relationship with Polly was ‘one of the big sadnesses’ or ‘shames’ of his life, Dominic admitted: ‘I suppose so, yes. I suppose I wish my eldest daughter had had some of the advantages or some of the security that my others have had.’
The Eton-educated actor, who played Prince Charles in The Crown, explained the relationship came at the wrong time in his life, saying: ‘I think I was too young. I was 28.’
He quickly conceded that 28 was ‘not that young, but I was just leaving drama school and looking towards America and so it came at the wrong time, really. It was very difficult, that ending.’
Dominic West has admitted his ‘biggest sadness’ is splitting from the mother of his first child (seen with former girlfriend Polly Astor and their daughter Martha in 2009)
The Wire star, 56, is currently married to aristocrat Catherine FitzGerald and the pair share four children (Catherine and Dominic seen in 2023)
Dominic has previously said of the end of his relationship with Polly, 54: ‘It was terrible because it was all me. I wanted out. I hurt Polly very badly, but at the time I wasn’t ready to settle down.
‘I was doing films all over the place and didn’t want to be tied down. Then I got The Wire.’
He was keen to stress on the podcast this week that he and Polly have since rebuilt their relationship.
‘We’re great friends now,’ he said, adding that Martha – a writer and actress – is fully integrated into his family with Catherine and their children Dora, 19, Senan, 17, Francis, 14, and Christabel, nine.
Dominic met Polly – daughter of Michael Astor, who was the son of 2nd Viscount Astor, and Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in the British House of Commons – at university in the late 1990s. They welcomed Martha in 1998, before separating in 2002.
The actor went on to marry landscape designer Catherine, 54, in 2010, and the couple now split their time between London and her family’s ancestral home, Glin Castle in County Limerick, Ireland, which has been in the FitzGerald family for more than 700 years.
Their marriage was thrust into the spotlight in 2020 when Dominic was photographed in romantic clinches with his co-star Lily James, 36, while on holiday in Rome after they filmed the BBC series The Pursuit of Love.
Catherine stood by him, and the couple famously appeared together outside their home holding a note that read: ‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you.’
He was keen to stress on the podcast this week that he and Polly have since rebuilt their relationship and he often attends events with daughter Martha (Seen together in 2021)
Dominic said Martha – a writer and actress – is fully integrated into his family with Catherine and their children Dora, 19, Senan, 17, Francis, 14, and Christabel, nine (Pictured)
The scandal came just years after Dominic made controversial comments about affairs while promoting his drama series The Affair.
In 2016, he said: ‘I think women should be more indulgent of affairs. I really do. It’s daft to kick someone out over a fling. Isn’t it? Everyone should turn a blind eye to men’s behaviour between the ages of 40 and 50. Let it all blow over.’
He also said that monogamy was ‘not the necessarily natural way to be, therefore there will always be adultery and intrigue about it.’
Speaking about the Lily James scandal in 2024, Dominc admitted it was ‘deeply stressful’ for his wife and children, though the couple have since found humour in the situation, joking about going out for a ‘show of unity’ in London.
The actor admitted that his approach to fatherhood was influenced by his late parents, George, who owned a plastics manufacturing plant, and Moya, an actress, both of Irish descent.
‘I think the thing that people noticed most about [George] was he was quite down to earth. There were no frills about him. He was very Yorkshire, and he was blunt, and often offended people for his bluntness, but there was an honesty to him, which I hope I’ve got some of, and also, very much his feeling that as a father, you have to be around and looking after kids and cooking and stuff.’
They got divorced when he was 27, which he found incredibly difficult, but reflected that ‘in some ways, it had been a long time coming. So I suppose there was some relief.’
His father went on to find a new partner and moved to Ireland, hoping his mother might follow. ‘He thought she might follow him, but she certainly didn’t. And so he started a new life in Ireland and they were better off not together,’ he recalled.
The actor, who was the sixth of seven children, shared that he enjoyed a closer bond with his father in later life.
‘In his last ten years when he was in Ireland, I became very close with him and saw him a lot and he used to come out to America when I was there and he loved America. His mother was American.’
He added that his mother, meanwhile, was ‘probably more affected by the divorce’ and ‘it wasn’t very easy for her’.
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