Lily James made awkwardly-timed comments about women having affairs and her rebellious streak in a video shot shortly before her scandal with Dominic West erupted over the weekend.
The actress, 31, was pictured canoodling with the married actor, 50, in Rome on Sunday before he put on a defiant display of unity with his wife Catherine Fitzgerald, 49, outside their home on Tuesday.
During their passionate PDA session, Lily and Dominic, whose shared manager joined them on the trip, surprised onlookers when they were pictured getting close while dining al fresco during a break in Italy although just days later he shared an insistent message about his marriage – insisting he and Catherine were together and ‘strong’.
In the video interview for Harper’s Bazaar, Lily was blazing the promo trail for her new movie Rebecca when she went into details about the role and also spoke of affairs, her rebellious streak and how she has made mistakes.
Shocking: Lily James made poignant comments about women having affairs and her rebellious streak in a video shot shortly before her scandal with Dominic West erupted over the weekend
Lily said in the video: ‘I feel I’ve rebelled in that way, I was always a rebellious teenager and I think it’s important to rebel in that way. I think criticism can be good if it’s constructive but I feel like if it’s attacking you or a vendetta that’s really difficult but I’m still learning….
‘I’m still figuring it out but I do think I can grow and develop a thicker skin. All that matters is those who love you.’
Speaking about Rebecca, she went on: ‘The character against Rebecca, she went against all norms as a woman, disobeyed her husband and had affairs was basically just brilliant and that was only in the 30s and people are afraid of women when they’re unleashed and women are warriors and that’s intimidating.’
On making mistakes, she continued: ‘I think I make mistakes all the time and I feel that’s what life’s about and I would never want to run away from a situation or be too scared to act…
What were they thinking? The actress, 31, was pictured engaging in a steamy PDA session with the married actor, 50, in Rome on Sunday before he put on a defiant display of unity with his wife Catherine Fitzgerald, 49, outside their home on Tuesday
Open and honest: Speaking about Rebecca, she went on: ‘The character against Rebecca, she went against all norms as a woman, disobeyed her husband and had affairs was basically just brilliant and that was only in the 30s and people are afraid of women when they’re unleashed and women are warriors and that’s intimidating’
‘I think it’s better to throw yourself in and if your instincts are right even if they’re misguided or if you’re open you can recover from your mistakes and learn from them’.
Elsewhere in the chat, Lily admitted she wishes her younger self ‘had not been so obsessed with boys’ – and said she still thinks of herself as a child. She said she wishes she had ‘hung out with girl mates’ more in her younger years, and that she often wants to be ‘another person’ as she stunned in plunging satin for a striking shoot.
On advice she would give her younger self, she told the publication: ‘Don’t be obsessed by boys! Hang out with your girl mates. And don’t take everything so seriously – be kind to yourself!’
Lily returned to work on Tuesday evening as the Dominic scandal raged on, as she joined her Rebecca co-star Armie Hammer on a video call to promote the upcoming movie.
The image of the video call came to light when Armie shared a picture of his laptop on a stack of boxes and joked about the glamour of 2020 press interviews due to the strains of COVID-19.
In the scandal that shook the news and showbiz worlds to their core, on Sunday, Lily and Dominic appeared unfazed by any marital status but in the latest twist in the tale, it was work as usual for Lily who looked demure during the appearance.
Candid: She was discussing many aspects of the movie, which resonated in the wake of the ongoing scandal
What scandal? During their groundbreaking PDA session, Lily and Dominic surprised onlookers when they were pictured packing on PDA while dining al fresco during a break in Italy , yet he has now insisted all is well in Camp West
Dominic is best known for playing Noah Solloway in The Affair, which explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between his character and a younger woman who catches his eye, named Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson).
In real life, the actor has been married to Irish landscape designer and aristocrat Catherine since 2010 – with the tender moments with Lily leaving their marital state in question.
Yet all questions went flying out the window on Tuesday, when Catherine agreed to take part in a bizarre show of unity with the star, with him telling reporters: ‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together’.
Is that your signature move, Dom? He placed his hand on the small of his wife’s back as they smooched, just like he did to Lily two days before- he wore the same outfit on both occasions but threw on a brown jacket for good measure back home
The shell-shocked blonde clutched a tissue in her hand as she gingerly stepped out of the marital home in Chippenham, Wiltshire, at 10:30am with her husband by her side, hiding her ring finger in her jeans pocket.
For a brief moment, she lingered in the doorway, biting her lip and staring anxiously at the ground as he glanced back and appeared to say something to her.
Dominic and Catherine have four children together; daughter Dora, 13, son Senan, 12, son Francis, 11, and daughter Christabel, seven. The actor also has another daughter Martha, 22, with former girlfriend Polly Astor.
Working hard: Lily returned to work on Tuesday evening as the Dominic scandal raged on, as she joined her Rebecca co-star Armie Hammer on a video call to promote the upcoming movie
In Dominic’s bizarre display, he and Catherine handed photographers a piece of paper, which repeated the words in his handwriting: ‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together’, with signatures underneath.
Bizarre: West handed out a piece of paper, (written by him) to reporters asserting that he and Catherine would not be splitting – it was signed by them both
In the window of their porch hung a children’s drawing of a rainbow, in support of the NHS – a reminder of why Catherine might have been so quick to put on a show of support so publicly.
Dominic refused to answer any questions about what occurred in Italy. Moments later, the couple left their home, driving off together to an unknown destination.
MailOnline understands the actor flew back from Rome on Monday night for crisis talks with his wife of 10 years, just hours after she told a friend she was ‘heartbroken, shocked and devastated’ after seeing pictures of Dominic locked in an embrace with Lily while not wearing his wedding ring.
Dominic’s face had been largely concealed by his face mask as he drove and he had kept his ring finger from view, after brazenly removing it for his very amorous display with Lily.
Dominic has been married to Irish landscape designer and mother-of-four Catherine since 2010.
On Monday, she confided in a friend that she and Dominic were still ‘very much together’ at the time of his steamy clinch with Lily, and she had said she considered the marriage to be ‘probably over’.
A female friend who came to console Catherine told MailOnline that she has was ‘devastated’ over the pictures because she thought she and Dominic had a ‘good marriage’.
What scandal? Lily plays the titular character in Rebecca, and it seems the scandal in her personal life has not fazed her professionally as she smiled in the chat
Before and after: Dominic with his wedding ring on (left) and without it in Rome (right)
And while Catherine looked visibly upset when she left her home, the loyal lady soon fixed on a smile as she faced reporters. She and Dominic share the same manager, who was also with them on the trip.
It was revealed later in the day that Catherine won’t ‘take any crap’ over the pictures of Lily and Dominic, friends have told MailOnline.
One friend who saw the pictures told MailOnline Catherine was ‘devastated’ behind the brave face after seeing the pictures.
The pal said: ‘She is privately fuming. There are some difficult conversations to be had, but those will take place behind closed doors. For now she was happy to display a show of unity and will always put her family first.’
Another old acquaintance said: ‘I saw those pictures today. I don’t know what’s going on. Catherine is very direct. There’s no nonsense with her. She’s always been kind and sweet but she doesn’t take crap.
‘I think anyone who knows her would say that. She’s a very cool person. I just hope she’s ok.’
The scion of a landed Ango-Irish family dating back 800 years, Catherine hails from a tradition where scandals are swiftly dealt with and life moves on.
Her first marriage was to Ned Lambton, Earl of Durham, whose father Lord Lambton, was forced to resign as a junior defence minister in the 1970s after being caught smoking cannabis in bed with two prostitutes.
And Catherine’s own ancestral lineage, the so-called ‘Black Knights of Glin’, Co. Limerick, on the west coast of Ireland, also included some disreputable characters – one even installed his mistresses in lodges around the estate.
On Tuesday, body language experts said Catherine struck a denial pose and went in for a ‘contrived-looking’ kiss in echoes of ‘unfaithful politicians trying to save their careers’.
For a brief moment, she lingered in the doorway, biting her lip and staring anxiously at the ground as he glanced back and appeared to say something to her.
She walked through the tiny front garden, without looking directly at the media gathered before her, clutching a tissue and a piece of paper which had been signed by them both and boasted: ‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you.’
‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together’: Defiant Dominic and Catherine sent shockwaves around the world as kissed and put on a united front on Tuesday after his clinch with Lily – but his wedding ring was still OFF
Catherine’s wedding to West took place at her ancestral home Glin Castle, Co. Limerick, on the west coast of Ireland with a breathtaking 400-acre estate on the banks of the River Shannon
After announcing that their marriage is ‘strong’, West moved towards his wife and gave her a prolonged, somewhat awkward kiss.
The actor appeared the dominant partner in the exchange, but friends insist that is not the case. ‘Catherine will make her feelings on the episode perfectly clear in private,’ added the friend.
She first met and fell in love with West at Trinity College, Dublin, where they were both students in the 1980s.
The slim, stunning blonde who lived in an ancestral castle in Limerick was quite a catch, even for Old Etonian West, born in Sheffield to Irish parents.
He described her as ‘beautiful, intelligent and spectacularly disdainful.’
As she had won a coveted scholarship, it entitled her to a room in Rubrics, the university’s oldest, grandest building, ‘which of course made her even more attractive,’ he told the Irish Independent in 2016.
But Catherine and West drifted apart after university, and she went on to marry Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham.
After her divorce in 2002, Catherine and West rekindled their romance and had three children before marrying in 2010
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, Co. Limerick.
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’.
Catherine’s wedding to West took place at Glin, which has a breath-taking 400-acre estate on the banks of the River Shannon.
On June 26 this year, the Glin Castle Instagram feed posted a special anniversary message for its owners, reading: ‘Happy wedding anniversary to Dominic and Catherine, who celebrated their marriage at Glin Castle 10 years ago today!’
Stage pals: The pair go way back and starred in Othello together at Sheffield’s Crucible back in 2011 (pictured)