Dominic West and his wife Catherine FitzGerald have insisted that their “marriage is strong”, after the actor was spotted “kissing” Lily James in Rome.
In photos published by The Sun, the 50-year-old actor and his wife kissed outside their family home in Chippenham, Wiltshire this morning – where they read a handwritten statement amid the drama.
The statement read, “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together,” and was signed by the couple.
According to the MailOnline, Dominic returned from Rome on Monday night – hours after a ‘friend’ claimed his wife was “devastated” over the photos of Dominic and Lily.
A pal told the publication: “Catherine has seen the pictures and she’s devastated. I came over to speak with her as soon as I knew about them.”
“Catherine has been trying to speak with Dominic but he’s not answering his phone. She’s totally shocked because she didn’t know anything was going on. They were very much together, so this is completely out of the blue.”
“She thought they had a good marriage and now it’s probably over. That’s how she feels right now but the two of them need to speak but at the moment, she’s lost for words.”
A gardener who lives on the grounds of their home also said: “This is their family home and as you can see it’s a wonderful place. They’ve got great kids and everything that you can imagine.”
“Catherine was devastated when she saw those pics and they also left us feeling quite numb. It’s a total shock to all of us who know them,” they added.
Dominic married the Irish landscape designer back in 2010, and the couple share four children – Dora, 13, Senan, 12, Francis, 11, and Christabel, 7.
Catherine is a member of the FitzGerald dynasty, an Irish royal and aristocratic dynasty that originated in Normandy.
Her father, Desmond FitzGerald, was the last Knight of Glin – and Catherine grew up at her family’s ancestral home, Glin Castle, in County Limerick.
According to reports, Catherine and Dominic bought Glin Castle last year, to rescue it from being sold on.
Lily and Dominic are set to star in Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s novel The Pursuit Of Love for the BBC, which began filming in July.
The three part romantic comedy-drama is being filmed in the Bristol and Bath area of England.
Dominic, 50, is best known for his role as Noah Solloway in the drama The Affair, where he plays a married father-of-three who starts an affair with a younger woman.
