Beloved entertainers Dawn French and Lenny Henry have shown the world how to end a long marriage with grace and forge a lasting friendship. The iconic pair were together for 25 years.
In a series of interviews, Dawn French – who will be headlining the Dawn French NYE show – spoke fondly of their journey from partners to friends.
Dawn French and Lenny Henry were married for 25 years
The couple married in 1984 with a lavish ceremony in Covent Garden, London. Dawn walked down the aisle in a lacy, puff-sleeved dress and floral headband, while Lenny looked sharp in a three-piece suit.
Their marriage brought many highs, including adopting their daughter Billie in 1991 after struggling with fertility challenges.
Dawn has been candid about the grief of miscarriages. However, she described Billie’s arrival as transformative.
“The minute Billie arrived, that was it for me. She fills everything I needed to be as a mother,” Dawn gushed to The Sunday Telegraph in 2010.
In 2010, after a “tricky last year”, Dawn and Lenny decided to part ways. They released a joint statement confirming their separation.
Reflecting on their split, Lenny noted in interviews that the decision to divorce evolved over time.
“There’s generally a situation where one partner wants the marriage to finish more than the other,” he admitted to The Express.
“I think maybe one of us did, then the other one did, and then the other did over a period of time and then, in the end, we thought, ‘Oh, actually maybe we both do’. We knew it wasn’t possible to continue.”
“There is no war”
Dawn has also spoken about the transition. Jokingly, she once attributed the breakdown of their marriage to her love of granny pants.
“Maybe I should have worn more interesting pants, and I’d still be married to him,” the actress and comedian quipped to The Sun in 2014.
She also expressed amazement at how they moved from a long marriage to a strong friendship.
“Remarkably, we seem to have shifted with relative ease from a 25-year marriage to a lasting friendship,” Dawn told The Mirror in 2017.
“I am amazed by us. There is no war. We’ve turned out to be the best of friends. There were lots of good years but one tricky last year.”
However, adjusting to life post-divorce wasn’t easy for Dawn. On Desert Island Discs, the star admitted that dating was a challenge.
Although, she found love again with charity executive Mark Bignell, whom she married in 2019. Meanwhile, Lenny has found happiness with theatre director Lisa Makin, with whom he has been in a long-term relationship since 2013.
Read more: Lenny Henry’s ‘no comment’ response to marrying girlfriend Lisa Makin following Dawn French divorce
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