Dominic West smiled as he snuggled up to his lookalike daughters Martha and Dora as he celebrated his 55th birthday last week.
The Crown actor, who shares his daughters with wife Catherine Fitzgerald, looked happier than ever after revealing how he hugged his co-star. Lily James says a private trip to Rome in 2020 was “deeply stressful” for her family.
Martha, 26, shared a photo of the family celebrations on her Instagram Story as she and Dora, 18, smiled while hugging their father.
He gave her a cake, sang happy birthday and captioned the video, 'Cake and candles.'
Dominic and Catherine married in 2010 and are also parents to Christabel, eight, and children Shannon, 16, and Francis, 13.
Dominic West snuggled up with his look-alike daughters Martha (L) and Dora (R) while celebrating his 55th birthday last week.
The married The Crown actor seemed happier than ever after revealing how films embracing co-star Lily James had caused his family “profound stress” on a private trip to Rome in 2020.
Dominic and his wife Catherine Fitzgerald married in 2010 (pictured in 2019)
Dominic publicly expressed his solidarity with his wife following the photos emerging, and the couple issued a statement about their marriage saying they are “still together.”
It was also said at the time that Catherine had banned Dominic from speaking to Lily, 35, as part of a peace deal between the couple.
Speaking to the Sunday Times cultural magazine, Dominic said: “I hesitate to speak on behalf of my wife because it's obviously terrible, especially for her.”
'But sometimes we joke about it… it's a ridiculous situation. It was deeply stressful for my wife and children, but there were moments of joy. “That was the best thing that came out of this.”
Dominic then surprised audiences with a romantic film in the middle of the pandemic in which he passionately hugged actress Lily, shortly after international travel restrictions were lifted.
The couple didn't think who saw them as they spent the day taking in the views while hugging and riding their scooters.
At the time he was still married to Catherine (and no separation was publicly announced), but he was not wearing his wedding ring.
A source told MailOnline that the couple spent two nights in a suite at the elegant Hotel De La Ville with a panoramic view of the entire city and a two-minute walk from the Spanish Steps.
After the photos emerged, Dominic publicly expressed his solidarity with his wife, and the couple issued a statement about their marriage, saying they are “still together” (pictured in 2015).
Dominic said: “I hesitate to speak on behalf of my wife because it's obviously horrible, especially [My Wife]' (Image 2015)
They only left the hotel for a few hours to tour the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Pietra on electric scooters, then met up with their friend and mutual manager, Angarat Wood, at a downtown restaurant.
With paparazzi photographers lurking, Lily sat next to Dominique and he couldn't resist kissing her neck and caressing her.
They were preparing to star in Emily Mortimer's adaptation of Nancy Mitford's famous novel The Pursuit of Love for the BBC and filming began in July, three months before their surprise holiday.
But the pair reunited again in 2011 in Sheffield's Crucible and again in Othello. Lily played Desdemona at 22 and Dominic played Iago at 41.
After his photographs finally emerged, the versatile actor gave a surprisingly stiff performance to reporters waiting outside the sprawling Cotswolds home he shared with Fitzgerald and their children.
The shocked mother-of-four clutched a tissue as she left the wedding house in Chippenham, Wiltshire, with her husband hiding his ring finger in the pocket of his jeans.
The awkward agenda was not helped by the couple's strange decision to display a piece of paper with a handwritten message: “Our marriage is strong and we are still together.” Thank you.'
Dominic and Lily were preparing to star in Emily Mortimer's adaptation of Nancy Mitford's famous novel The Pursuit of Love for the BBC and filming began in July.
FitzGerald later broke his silence to assure MailOnline that his marriage was safe.
He told reporters: “We're fine, thank you very much, yes we are.” Things are good between us. We don't need any advice from anyone, thank you.'
In 2022, Lily appeared to break her silence about her cozy trip with Dominique during an interview with Rolling Stone.
Speaking to the publication to promote her role on Hulu's Pam & Tommy, the actress admitted to empathizing with Pamela Anderson after finding herself in a similar “difficult situation.”
Although Lily didn't speak directly about her trip with Dominic, she did admit to being subject to the same scrutiny as Pamela “a lot.”
The star addressed Pamela's 'brush with the gossip rags' before sharing her own experience.
She said: 'Women in the public eye sometimes experience a bit of a difficult relationship between privacy and their lives.
'There was a lot. A story as old as time.'
Lily previously refused to speak about the media storm that surrounded her and Dominic, who were photographed exploring Rome in October 2020.
When asked during an interview with The Guardian about being at the center of such a storm, he said: “Ugh, I'm not ready to talk about that.” There is much more to say, but I'm afraid not now.
