Meet the ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Cast’s Real-Life Loves: All About the 2005 Film Stars’ Romances
An entire generation was changed when Joe Wright‘s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice hit theaters everywhere on November 23, 2005. For 20 years, we have rewatched most ardently and let the stunning period romance bewitch us.
Watching Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and Mr. Darcy’s (Matthew Macfadyen) love story truly never gets old. The field scene alone would make even the harshest cynic swoon.
While the romances in Austen’s classic tale often steal the show, the real-life love stories of the Pride & Prejudice cast are worth celebrating. From decades-long marriages to Carey Mulligan finding love with her former summer camp pen pal to the romances that blossomed on the set of P&P, Miss Austen could have probably written several novels about the 2005 cast’s relationships alone.
In honor of the 20th anniversary, Swooon has done a deep dive into the real-life relationships and dating history of the Pride & Prejudice cast. Scroll down to learn about the husbands, wives, and partners of the beloved ensemble.
Pride & Prejudice, Streaming Now, HBO Max (Until November 30)
Keira Knightley
Our Elizabeth Bennet has been married to musician James Righton since 2013. They started dating in 2011. A very simple moment made the actress realize Righton was the one for her. “I knew that it was serious when he very seriously turned around to me and said, ‘You know, if you want to keep mayonnaise in the fridge, you can,'” Knightley said on Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast. “And I was like, wow.”
Knightley and Righton have two daughters, Edie, born in 2015, and Delilah, born in 2019.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star previously dated Jamie Dornan as well as Rupert Friend, whom she met on the set of Pride & Prejudice.
Matthew Macfadyen
Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy literally changed lives with that hand flex.
In real life, Macfadyen has been married to actress Keeley Hawes since 2004. They met on the set of the film Spooks. Macfadyen and Hawes have two children together. In a full circle moment, Hawes played Cassandra Austen, Jane Austen’s sister, in the series Miss Austen.
Carey Mulligan
Mulligan made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, and she hasn’t stopped working since.
After a brief relationship with her Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps costar Shia LaBeouf, Mulligan reconnected with Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. They were pen pals at summer camp as children and lost touch as they grew up. They fell in love after crossing paths again as adults. The couple married in 2012, and they’ve since had three children.
Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike starred as the eldest Bennet sister in the 2005 film. While at Oxford, Pike and her eventual Pride & Prejudice costar, Simon Woods, fell in love just like their characters, Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley. Their relationship didn’t last, and Pike later got engaged to Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright after meeting on the set of the film. Their engagement ended in 2008.
Since 2009, Pike has been in a relationship with businessman Robie Uniacke. They have two sons, Solo, born in 2012, and Atom, born in 2014.
Simon Woods
Woods played the kind-hearted Mr. Bingley in the 2005 film. He dated Pike, his Pride & Prejudice costar, during their days at Oxford, and then found lasting love with Christopher Bailey, the former chief creative officer at Burberry. Woods and Bailey started dating in 2009 and married in 2012. They have two kids, Iris and Nell.
Rupert Friend
Mr. Wickham was one of Friend’s earliest roles. While filming the period drama, he fell in love with Ms. Bennet herself. Friend and Knightley’s relationship was the subject of much media attention. The couple dated from 2005 to 2010. The actor met his now-wife, Aimee Mullins, while working on Homeland. They got engaged in 2014 and married in 2016.
The couple welcomed their daughter in 2024. Friend was filming Jurassic World Rebirth in London when his wife went into labor in New York. He raced to the airport, but due to delays, missed the birth of his daughter. However, he was able to watch the birth via FaceTime. He said on Today that he was “crying my eyes out with all the air hostesses thrusting champagne at me.”
Talulah Riley
Talulah Riley was 20 years old when she played Mary Bennet, the youngest Bennet sister, in Pride & Prejudice. Mary doesn’t have a love interest in the film, but Riley has found her soulmate off-camera.
Riley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster met on the set of the limited series Pistol. They played real-life couple Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. Rumors circulated in 2021 that the actors were an item, but they didn’t confirm their romance until 2022. The couple married in June 2024 in the English village of Anstey in Hertfordshire.
Riley was previously married to Elon Musk… twice. They wed in 2010 and divorced in 2012. They remarried the following year and divorced again in 2016.
Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander played Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice. Mr. Collins didn’t find love with Lizzie Bennet (he later did with Charlotte Lucas), but his portrayer has been in a long-term relationship with interior designer Fran Hickman. The couple welcomed their first child together, a son, in 2023.
Judi Dench
Acting legend Judi Dench graced us with her presence in Pride & Prejudice as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Dench was married to actor Michael Williams from 1971 until his death in 2001. They had a daughter together, Finty Williams. The Oscar winner found love again with conservationist David Mills. They met at the British Wildlife Centre, which was founded by Mills. They have been dating since 2010.
Kelly Reilly
The Yellowstone star played Caroline Bingley in the period romance film. Kelly Reilly has been married to Kyle Baugher since 2012. They met at his brother’s wedding in 2010. “He’s from Long Island, and he’s the love of my life,” Reilly said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “And the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me is my marriage.”
Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Blethyn starred as the Bennet matriarch. In real life, Blethyn was married to Alan James Blethyn from 1964 to 1973. She began dating Michael Mayhew in 1975, and they finally married in 2010.
Donald Sutherland
The late Donald Sutherland, who died in 2024, played the patient Bennet patriarch, Mr. Bennet. He was married three times over the course of his life: Lois May Hardwick from 1959 to 1966, Shirley Douglas from 1966 to 1970, and Francine Racette. He had two kids with Douglas, including Kiefer Sutherland, and three sons with Racette.
Claudie Blakley
Claudie Blakley played the memorable (and meme-worthy) role of Charlotte Lucas in the film. Since 2022, Blakley has been married to Ross Anderson. They have a daughter together.
Jena Malone
Jena Malone played Lydia Bennet alongside fellow Bennet sisters Knightley, Pike, Mulligan, and Riley. The actress was in a relationship with Ethan DeLorenzo from 2014 to 2019. They were engaged for a period of time and welcomed a child together. Malone has been dating musician Alex Ebert since 2019.
