Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied are currently in a rocky position after he allegedly had an affair with a much younger woman. Millepied reportedly had an affair with a 25-year-old woman, which was first reported by the French outlet Voici, according to Page Six.
It was earlier reported that the popular ballet dancer and an A-list actress are working through his purported dalliance, but who exactly is the woman who is said to have briefly captured Millepied's heart? The woman's name is Camille Étienne, who is two decades younger than Millepied. However, Portman and Millepied are reportedly still together and were seen kissing in Paris on May 29.
Marriage on the Rocks
According to People magazine, sources claimed the alleged affair was "short-lived" and is now "over." They continued, calling it an "enormous mistake," while claiming that Millepied, 45, was aware of the severity of his alleged transgression and was cooperating with Portman to repair the damage.
Portman and Millepied fell in love in 2009 while working on the production of her Oscar-winning ballet film "Black Swan," for which he did the choreography. They subsequently worked together on her 2018 movie "Vox Lux."
Although it seems unrelated to his alleged affair with the 25-year-old, a source told Page Six that Portman and Millepied had split up before reuniting last year.
Their marriage has, however, once again run into rough waters as a result of her alleged discovery of the affair in March of this year.
Complicating matters are photos of Millepied and 25-year-old climate activist Camille Étienne that were published in France.
Although reports have surfaced that Portman and Millepied are trying to save their marriage, sources close to the couple told Page Six that the two "have not split," adding that "Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family."
Sources close to Portman and Millepied also mentioned how "incredibly private" Portman is about her marriage.
"Her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids," the source added.
Complicated Marriage Complicates Further
However, the woman in question-- Camille Étienne—is now hogging the limelight. Voici first published photos of Millepied and Étienne entering his Paris office separately in late May 2023 and exiting two hours later, 10 minutes apart.
According to reports, Etienne, born on May 29, 1998, is an environmental activist and often teams up with fellow co-warrior Greta Thunberg to raise awareness about climate change.
According to Voici, Étienne is the daughter of a mountain guide and the granddaughter of farmers.
Etienne has made a number of documentaries and short films to spread her message.
Her list of short films and documentaries includes Pourquoi on se bat, On est prêt, and Plus belle la vie. Besides being an environmental activist, Etienne is also an author.
Her debut book For an Ecological Uprising: Overcoming Our Collective Powerlessness was published on May 19, 2023, as her debut book. The book covers a number of actions that millennials and younger readers can take to halt climate change.
Etienne has also collaborated with fellow eco-warriors Greta Thunberg, Adélaïde Charlier, and Anuna de Wever.
Etienne also has a huge fan-following on social media, with 292,000 followers on Instagram and 61,900 on Twitter.
Etienne also frequently appears on numerous TV shows where she advocates her beliefs.
In November 2022, She captioned a video of one of her appearances with the following statement (translated from French): "Democracy is the regime that guarantees the right to challenge unjust political decisions."
Vanity Fair in France reportedly listed her as one of the "50 French women who made 2020."
According to Page Six, Portman and Millepied's marital issues affected the production of her upcoming movie May December, which is helmed by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes.
The film stars Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, of Riverdale fame, who play a married couple who were embroiled in scandal years earlier when her relationship with the much younger man came to light.
Portman portrays an actress who visits them in order to prepare for her role as Moore's character in a movie about the controversy, but her dredging up their history threatens to end their marriage.
During the 23-day filming in November 2022, it was allegedly an 'open secret' that Portman and her husband were having marital problems.
May December premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month to rave reviews, with critics praising each of the three stars individually. However, Millepied did not accompany his wife to the high-profile event.
But it was said that they were still together at the event, and they appeared to indicate that things were going well in the days that followed.
They were spotted together on May 26 at a Beyoncé concert in Paris, then on May 29 in the same city, they were captured kissing.
