Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci announce split after two years together

Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci have ended their relationship after two years. The filmmaker and the Italian actress confirmed the news in a joint statement issued to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, September 19.

“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.

Burton, 67, and Bellucci, 60, first crossed paths on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. At the time, both were in long-term relationships, and their meeting was brief. More than a decade later, they reconnected in 2022 when Bellucci presented Burton with the Lumière Award at the Lumière Festival in France. Soon after, they were spotted together in Madrid, fuelling speculation about a romance. The couple publicly confirmed their relationship in October 2023 when they appeared together at the Rome Film Festival, where Bellucci premiered her film Maria Callas: Lettere e Memorie. Coverage from the event described Burton as “so in love and happy,” according to The Independent.

In June 2023, Bellucci spoke warmly about Burton in an interview with Elle France, shortly after he cast her in his sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. “What I can say … I’m glad I met the man, first of all. It's one of those encounters that rarely happens in life … I know the man, I love him and now I'm going to meet the director — another adventure begins,” she said. Bellucci plays the role of Delores, the antagonist in the film, which is scheduled for release in 2024.

Burton was previously in a long-term relationship with actress Helena Bonham Carter from 2001 to 2014. The pair, who share two children — Billy, born in 2003, and Nell, born in 2007 — collaborated on several of Burton’s films including Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd. Though they never married, Bonham Carter later described their separation as “a divorce.”

Bellucci was married to French actor Vincent Cassel from 1999 until 2013. They have two daughters together, Deva, born in 2004, and Léonie, born in 2010.