Rowan Atkinson, Wife End 24 Years of Marriage: 'Unreasonable Behavior' & 'Mr. Bean' Affair Led to Split?
Legendary British icon Rowan Atkinson and his wife, makeup artist Sunetra Sastry, have ended their 24-year marriage, the Telegraph UK reports.
Citing "unreasonable behavior" as the reason for the former couple's failed marriage, the publication further said that Sastry was granted a decree nisi by the judge at Central Family Court. According to United Kingdom's government website, a decree nisi is "a document that says that the court doesn't see any reason why you can't divorce."
During the quick proceeding in central London, which only went for about five seconds more than a minute, only Sastry was present and the "Mr. Bean" actor was seen nowhere.
Andrew Newbury, head of family law at Slater and Gordon, told Telegraph that "unreasonable behavior" is one of the most common grounds for a couple to file a divorce.
"Even in the happiest of marriages, it's always possible to find behavior which can be described as unreasonable," Newbury said. He furthered that simple acts like "she talks too much," "he never listens," or "always wants to go out with friends" can be considered unreasonable behaviors.
It was reported that the former pair has split for about a year now. Immediately after their estrangement, the 60-year-old comedian dated an actress almost half his age. Currently, Atkinson is dating 32-year-old Louise Ford. The pair has been dating for already about 18 months.
While the official court documents only cited "unreasonable behavior" as the split's main cause, reports surfaced that Atkinson's relationship with Ford trembled the former couple's 24-year marriage. Even though the "Blackadder" and "Misfits" stars just started dating early last year, some unconfirmed reports say that their affair went under Sastry's nose and while Atkinson is still a married man.
A source told U.K. tabloid The Sun that the "divorce has been on the cards for a while after Sunetra was deeply upset to be replaced by such a younger woman."
But even though Sastry and Atkinson have split, the source continued to say that everything is settled as of now since the comedian have already "sorted the family out financially and these arrangements have been in place for while."
"The divorce though took its time so everybody is happy with it and they can all move on," the source added.
Sastry and Atkinson's divorce could be finalized six weeks after the last proceeding. The former couple, who wed in 1990, share two children: Lily, 20, and Benjamin, 22.
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