Dominic West says he and his wife 'joke about' Lily James drama now
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- Dominic West incited a media frenzy in 2020 after he was photographed kissing his costar Lily James.
- West says he and his wife now "joke about" the press coverage the incident generated.
- The actor also called it an "absurd situation."
Looking back at one of the most difficult times in his family's life, Dominic West can't help but laugh.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, West addressed how he and his wife, landscape designer Catherine FitzGerald, dealt with the ensuing media storm after he was photographed kissing his costar Lily James in 2020.
"I hesitate to speak on my wife's behalf because it was obviously horrible, particularly for her," West said when asked whether there were any good things about his "moment of infamy." "But we do joke about it sometimes."
West recalled how the two found humor in the newspapers reporting on their every move and saying the two were "putting on a show of unity" every time they went out together.
"Even if we'd just been rowing about parking the car or whatever, even if that couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "And so when we go out we do sort of say, 'Shall we go and have a show of unity up in London?'"
West went on to call the incident "an absurd situation."
"It was deeply stressful for my wife and my kids, but there were lighter moments," the actor said. "That was the best that came out of it, really."
West and FitzGerald had been married for 10 years at the time he was seen kissing James, his costar on the BBC miniseries "The Pursuit of Love," in Rome. They were also pictured sharing a ride on an electric scooter. The Daily Mail reported at the time that West wasn't wearing his wedding band in the photos.
Days after the photos were published, West and FitzGerald, who have three kids together, made a very pointed public show of unity when they posed for the press, kissing outside their home in London. They also handed paparazzi a signed handwritten note that read, "Our marriage is strong and we're still very much together. Thank you."
James, for her part, refused to address the incident publicly when asked about it in the press. "Ach, I'm not really willing to talk about that," she told The Guardian in 2021. "There is a lot to say, but not now, I'm afraid."
In his new Sunday Times interview, the 54-year-old actor, who played Prince Charles at the time of his divorce from Princess Diana on "The Crown," also acknowledged that his experience with being at the center of a scandal gave him "a very acute understanding" of what the future monarch went through.
"There is that dreadful, freezing moment when something is revealed about you. I think anyone can understand how that feels," West said. "But I'd been through it, and it must have informed how I approached it. That gut feeling of horror isn't something you get inured to."