Dominic West’s wife Catherine Fitzgerald has spoken out for the first time since the actor was photographed kissing and cuddling Lily James in Rome last month.
Catherine, 49 broke her silence to assure MailOnline that her marriage is ‘fine’, as friends confirmed she was determined to make her marriage work and avoid a divorce.
She told a reporter: ‘We’re fine, thank you very much, yes we are.
‘Things are OK between us. We don’t need any advice from anyone, thank you.’
It comes after Dominic’s mother-in-law Olda shared a gushing tribute to the actor following his Lily James scandal.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the mother of Dominic’s wife Catherine FitzGerald, called him ‘darling’ as she commented on how ‘lucky’ she was.
The FitzGerald family’s Glin Castle Instagram account had posted a picture of Dominic and wife Catherine from a previous photoshoot with Architectural Digest.
Gushing! It comes after Dominic’s mother-in-law Olda shared a gushing tribute to the actor following his Lily James scandal (Dominic and wife Catherine pictured last month outside their family home putting on a united display)
Writing in the comments section, Olda penned: ‘My eldest daughter and my darling son-in-law who both work so hard to keep me in clover!
‘How lucky am I? Hooray darlings congrats on sweet photo.’
Olda is the widow of the 29th and last Knight of Glin, Desmond FitzGerald, who passed away aged 74 in 2011.
Catherine is said to have just returned to her house with Dominic after being holed up at her ancestral home of Glin Castle in County Limerick, Ireland.
‘Darling’: Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the mother of Dominic’s wife Catherine FitzGerald, called him ‘darling’ as she commented on how ‘lucky’ she was on a picture of the couple posted to Glin Castle’s Instagram account
Tribute: Olda is the widow of the 29th and last Knight of Glin, Desmond FitzGerald, who passed away aged 74 in 2011 (pictured before his death in 2011)
The eldest of three daughters of Desmond Fitzgerald, the 29th and last so-called ‘Black Knight of the Glin’, Catherine was brought up at magnificent Glin Castle.
Her father, whose title dated back to feudal times was not formally addressed as ‘Sir’. Instead, he insisted on being addressed as ‘Knight’, though a few trusted friends were allowed to call him by his nickname ‘Knighty’.
After Catherine’s father died in 2011, leaving the house and grounds to her and her sisters Nesta and Honor and their mother, Olda, they initially decided to put it up for auction.
But more recently, Dominic and Catherine decided to take on the daunting task of renovating and opening up the castle with its 18 opulent bedrooms as a venue with accommodation, to try and meet the £150,000-a-year running costs.
Historic: Catherine and West spend holidays at Glin Castle (pictured centre) where they run the historic castle that’s been in her family as an events venue to cover the £150,000-a-year running costs
Dominic and wife Catherine have been putting on a united front after pictures of him canoodling with actress Lily James, 31, while on holiday in Rome emerged last month.
It comes following reports that Catherine, 49, was planning to leave her husband and their marriage was ‘as good as over’ following the cosy snaps.
Friends of Catherine said she is set to walk away from their 10-year marriage, after seeing pictures of him on a romantic weekend with Lily.
Neighbours revealed landscape gardener Catherine returned to the couple’s home last week after being holed up at her ancestral home of Glin Castle in County Limerick, Ireland.
Working together: Lily and Dominic are set to star in Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s celebrated novel The Pursuit Of Love for the BBC featuring Emily Beecham & Andrew Scott – filming began in July
A resident of the village where the couple live with their four children told MailOnline: ‘We’ve seen him out running and walking the dog. Catherine has been back for about five days and she’s been spotted but we’ve not seen the two of them together.
‘There are a lot of rumours doing the rounds about the future of their marriage but whatever happens, it’s nice to see them doing something together because they are a popular couple.’
Another resident added: ‘It’s quite common knowledge that they’ve got marital problems and we’ve not seen them together recently.’
It comes after friends claimed Catherine is ‘completely devastated’ at the prospect of her marriage being over because she’s ‘still mad about’ West.
But they speculate that Catherine, who has four children with West, had grown tired of being an actor’s wife ‘with all that entails.’
A friend told MailOnline: ‘He lives this other life where he’s away at least half the year and she and the kids are waiting for him.
‘She’s living in a house in England for his career when I think anyone who knows her knows she would much rather be home in Ireland.
‘The pictures of Dominic in Rome show just how separate their lives have become.
The end? Sources have said the landscape designer is preparing to call off their relationship (pictured in 2015)
‘Catherine is still mad about Dominic but it’s plainly not working. She’s been humiliated. Painful as it is, this looks like it could be the time to leave him.’
TV and film stars Dominic and Lily became the subject of worldwide scrutiny, when the images emerged showing the pair enjoying an al fresco lunch with their mutual agent, Angharad Wood.
Lily and Dominic enjoyed a two-day vacation in Italy where they were seen riding on a scooter through Rome, and The Affair star appeared to at one point lean over and kiss her neck.
A source told MailOnline they spent two nights in a suite at the top Hotel De La Ville with a panoramic view over the city and just at two minutes walk from the Spanish steps. Just days later, the father-of-five and his wife defended their marriage.
This came hours after Catherine told friends she was ‘heartbroken’ over the images, which went viral.
The shell-shocked mother-of-four had clutched a tissue in her hand as she gingerly stepped out of the marital home in Chippenham, Wiltshire with her husband by her side, hiding her ring finger in her jeans pocket.
Dominic’s ring was off as it had been for his weekend with Lily.
It was previously reported that Catherine held crisis talks with her family over the future of her marriage.
The couple – who tied the knot in June 2010 after reuniting following their university romance – share Dora, 13, Senan, 12, Francis, 11, and Christabel, seven, together.
While the Sheffield native has another daughter Martha, 21, with former girlfriend, aristocrat, Polly Astor.
Role: Dominic is best known for playing Noah Solloway in Showtime drama, The Affair, which explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between his character and Alison Bailey (pictured with former co-star Ruth Wilson)