Monica Bellucci, Tim Burton announce split after three years

Love lasted three years: Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have called it quits and announced their decision to separate in a joint statement.

They had, with equal officiality, announced their relationship in February 2023, a few months after their “love at first sight” at the Festival Lumière in October 2022 in Lyon, CE Report quotes ANSA.

It was a union that seemed to run smoothly but did not last long. “It is with great respect and mutual affection that Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have decided to separate,” the ex-couple’s statement read, almost as if reporting a happy, or at least serene, event.

Sixty years old, the actress from Città di Castello did not spare kind words and phrases full of admiration for the American director, the “wonderful” man she had met and who had been by her side. “I met a spectacular soul,” she told the Spanish edition of Harper’s Bazaar a few months after their union was officially announced. She added that she “admired what Tim does.”

In July 2025, the Italian actress, who has been living in France for years, confided to Madame Figaro about her partner, and in particular about their working relationship. In fact, Tim had chosen Monica — almost immediately after their romantic relationship began — to star in his latest film, Beetlejice Beetlejuice, alongside the actress he has always favored, Wynona Ryder, and Jenna Ortega.

“It’s something that makes everything easier,” Monica told the French magazine, “because you perfectly understand each other’s life, what they do during the day, the moments of absence. For a woman who works as an actress, it’s difficult to find a balance between work and romantic life. Being inspired by the other’s artistic universe is important.”

Monica had also been “an admirer” of Tim even before becoming his partner. Even though “the man-woman relationship,” she said, “is what matters most to me. Looking into each other’s eyes and understanding each other. The artistic exchange is a pleasure but absolutely not essential. I live with the man, not with the artist.”

Recently, the two appeared together on the red carpet at the 55th Giffoni Film Festival. Before her relationship with Burton, Monica Bellucci had been with contemporary artist Nicolas Lefebvre, a relationship that began in 2017, four years after the end of her marriage to French actor Vincent Cassel, father of her two daughters, Deva (18) and Léonie (12).

Tim Burton had not appeared publicly with a woman since 2014, when his relationship with English actress Helena Bonham Carter ended — the mother of his children Billy and Nell, now 19 and 15. Prior to that, the director had been in relationships with artist Lena Gieseke and then model Lisa Marie.