Helena Bonham Carter has ruled out ever marrying her younger boyfriend Rye Dag Holmboe, saying she cannot make the promise to be with someone forever.
The actress, 60, has been in a relationship with the 38 year old art historian since 2018. They were seen enjoying a walk together in Hampstead, north London earlier this week.
Speaking in December, the Sweeney Todd star explained her stance on marriage. She said she could not honestly promise to spend the rest of her life with one person, calling the commitment unhealthy.
"I mean, we're not meant to be forever," she said. "And I've never actually gotten married because I can't say those words, I can't honestly make that promise because I just don't think it's a healthy one."
A chance meeting
Bonham Carter and Holmboe first met at a mutual friend's wedding. She described the encounter as a random event that neither of them almost attended.
"A totally random thing, which both of us nearly didn't go to, so it was one of those moments that was so chance and ended up determining so much," she told The Guardian. "A really happy accident, and it's an amazing thing. I can't say much about Rye, because he's a psychoanalyst, so he needs his anonymity."
The couple made their relationship public in 2019, five years after her separation from film director Tim Burton. Bonham Carter told Harper's Bazaar that she was ready to move on because she grew bored of grieving her previous relationship.
"You break up, you grieve, you get bored of grieving. And then you finally move on," she said. "I'm very happy with someone else. It's been a bit of unexpected magic in my life."
Addressing the 21 year age gap, the actress praised her boyfriend to The Times, describing him as an old soul in a young body.
"Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature," she said. "People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn't. Women can be very powerful when they're older."
She added: "There are people I've been involved with who aren't necessarily their age, maturity wise, whereas he is ageless."
Separation from Tim Burton
Bonham Carter shares two children, 22 year old Billy and 18 year old Nell, with Burton. The 68 year old director and the actress split in 2014 after a long term relationship.
They were a prominent Hollywood couple, collaborating on films including Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows.
During their time together, they lived in separate, connected houses in north London. Bonham Carter said the arrangement worked well, dismissing rumours of a gothic underground tunnel.
"The houses are joined," she said. "He always visits, which is really touching. He's always coming over. We have a throughway. Journalists think there's an underground tunnel, gothic. It's actually quite above ground, lots of light."
She revealed they only shared a bed sometimes, citing a snoring issue. Burton also needed television to sleep due to insomnia, while she required silence.
"I talk, he snores," she said. "The other thing is, he's an insomniac, so he needs to watch television to get to sleep. I need silence."
Working together
The pair met on the set of the 2001 film Planet of the Apes. Burton directed the movie and told her she was the first person he thought of to play a chimpanzee.
Following their relationship, Bonham Carter became known for her eccentric style. "I feel like I have a reputation to keep," she said of her outfits. "I have a responsibility now to dress badly, so it's kind of liberating."
Working together professionally created strain, particularly on the 2007 musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
"It's not without its pressures, working with Tim," she said in 2010. "It worked on Alice. Sweeney was very stressful, very hard on our relationship. He's a partner in our private life, but when he's directing, he's the boss. And maybe I confuse that."
A year before their separation, Burton was photographed embracing a woman thought to be an assistant in Hampstead. The couple declined to comment at the time.
A spokesperson later confirmed they separated amicably and continued to co-parent as friends.
The cruelty of divorce
Bonham Carter has spoken openly about the difficulty of the split, which she calls a divorce. On the Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud podcast, she credited her friends with helping her survive the change.
"I was incredibly grateful for my friendships," she said. "I think maybe my appreciation of them got bigger because they survived and supported me through this huge sea change."
She added that she relied on other people's families to help carry her own children.
"When I was feeling like mine was falling apart, and a divorce is truly, in a family that's close as ours, was transformative to everybody," she said. "Having said that, if you don't fit each other, it takes a lot of bravery, but it's better to move than stop each other from going. I mean, we're not meant to be forever."
In 2020, she noted the extraordinary cruelty of divorce, while acknowledging some benefits.
"But then you get to a point where you're like, 'Oh, I get this week off!' Some parts are very much to be recommended," she said.
She also believed Peter Morgan, the creator of The Crown, cast her as Princess Margaret because she could relate to a highly public break up. She hinted at her reluctance to end the relationship.
"I didn't leave, put it that way," she said.
Moving on
Burton later dated Italian actress Monica Bellucci. The 61 year old actress and the director began dating in 2022 but separated in the autumn of 2025.
They issued a joint statement to announce the split.
"It is with much respect and deep care for each other that Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have decided to part ways," the statement read.
Bellucci said their paths met to make a path together before splitting again.
"As long as I live, however, Tim will always have a unique place in my heart," she said.
Before Burton, Bonham Carter was in a relationship with actor Kenneth Branagh. They met on the set of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in 1994, while he was married to Emma Thompson, and separated in 1999.
