Are Lily James and Matt Smith social distancing? Four months after their relationship hit the buffers the stars take a stroll but keep two metres apart
- Matt Smith and Lily James are seen together for the first time in 2020
- Former couple have stayed in touch and were seen in North London
- Couple stayed two metres apart as per government social distancing guidelines
Their relationship hit the buffers four months ago amid rumours Matt Smith had become close to his Crown co-star Claire Foy.
But as our exclusive photographs reveal, he and former lover Lily James have stayed in touch – although neither appear exactly overjoyed by the fact.
Once known for public displays of affection, the couple maintained their distance – as well as guarded expressions on their faces – as they strolled near the North London home they once shared.
They certainly appeared in no danger of breaching the Government’s social distancing guidance to remain at least two metres apart to halt the spread of coronavirus.
Former lovers, Matt Smith and Lily James, are pictures together for the first time in 2020 and practice their 2 meters apart and socially distance amidst the coronvirus pandemic
Matt Smith and Lily James pictured in happier times in 2017. The couple dated for five years
Wearing a red woolly hat and designer sunglasses, Miss James, 30, managed a faint smile as she and the former Dr Who star chatted during their Friday stroll – the first time they have been seen together in public since November, the month they broke up.
The split followed rumours that Miss James had struggled to cope with Smith’s close friendship with Miss Foy, 37, which developed as they played the Queen and Prince Philip on acclaimed Netflix series The Crown.
However, other sources said that the couple – who met on the set of Pride And Prejudice And Zombies in 2014 –were driven apart because of their hectic work schedules.
But even before their official split, there were reports of tensions in their relationship, with Miss James absent from photographs taken at Smith’s 37th birthday party in October.
Matt Smith is reported to have got close to his Crown co-star, Claire Foy, that put his relationship with Lily under strain who struggled to cope with their friendship
In December, Miss James prompted speculation that she had managed to move on from Smith by leaving a British Fashion Awards party in Mayfair in a taxi with handsome actor Max Ianeselli.
That month she also went on holiday to South Africa with her friends, including stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray, which she described as a ‘post-traumatic stress getaway’.
During the jaunt, the actress, who got her breakthrough playing Lady Rose in Downton Abbey, dropped what appeared to be a hint by posting an image of her visit to a wild cat sanctuary on her Instagram page with the message ‘National Cheetahs’.