Who Is Livia Giuggioli? Colin Firth's Wife Admits Affair With Friend She Claims Is Stalking Her
Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth’s wife Livia Giuggioli has admitted she had an affair with the man she recently accused of stalking her.
Firth and Giuggioli this week promoted a criminal investigation in Italy—where they reside—after Giuggioli complained that her former friend, journalist Marco Brancaccia, had begun harassing her because he felt Giuggioli had cut him out of her life. Brancaccia strongly denies the claims.
But in a statement Friday, Giuggioli, 48, told the U.K.’s The Times newspaper that she had a romantic relationship with Brancaccia, 55, between 2015 and 2016.
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“A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited,” a spokesperson for the Firths told the Times. “Subsequently, Mr Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented.”
Firth, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of King George VI in The King’s Speech, married Italian film producer Giuggioli in 1997. They have two sons, Luca and Matteo. Firth, 57, also has another son, William, from a previous relationship.
In a legal complaint Giuggioli said she was living in terror and worries that Brancaccia was following her.
Brancaccia, who is a journalist for Italian news agency Ansa, denied harassing Giuggioli and said he believes that she filed the complaint out of fear he would go public with details of the affair.
“We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me,” Brancaccia told The Times.
“My ‘stalking’ consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an email. I wrote an email to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work.”
Firth is best known for his roles in the Bridget Jones movies, the Kingsman franchise and Love Actually.