Dominic West Is Participating in Revisionist History!!

Remember 2020? (LOL what a question…) When we were all cornered off in our homes, told to bleach our mail, and not breathe within eight feet of other mammals? Remember how during that time of heightened public health personal space, British actor Dominic West was caught snogging his The Pursuit of Love co-star Lily James? Remember how West seemingly forgot he had a wife of ten years, Irish aristocrat Catherine FitzGerald, and four kids?

Well, I do. In an interview with The Times, West spoke briefly about that time in his life without directly addressing the affair at all. “I hesitate to speak on my wife’s behalf because it was obviously horrible, particularly for her,” he said. He added:

“But we do joke about it sometimes. Because whenever we went out together, the papers would always say we were ‘putting on a show of unity’. Even if we’d just been rowing about parking the car or whatever, even if that couldn’t be further from the truth. And so when we go out we do sort of say, ‘Shall we go and have a show of unity up in London?’”

Of course, the couple did put up a blatant show of unity. In fact, “show” is really the best word for their PR charm offensive that they doubled down on post-James kissing pics. A few days after the photos were snapped, West and Fitzgerald were photographed hugging, kissing, and sharing a handwritten note with the press in front of their house. The note read, “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you.” No, thank YOU, Dominic and Elizabeth.

More celebrities should participate in theatrics like this as if the public are dumb little kittens. It’s fun. But to say that the papers were the ones who were spinning their martial displays of affection as a “show of unity” is ahistorical!!! Those two were giving us the ol’ razzle-we’re-happily-married-dazzle all on their own. Don’t blame the press.

A few weeks later, the entire family posed rather stiltedly in front of an Irish castle. But no family photo, no matter how chummy, will erase the photo of West and James both wearing masks and sharing a small scooter as they cruised the cobblestone streets of Rome. 

Honestly, West said it best in his Times interview: “It was an absurd situation. It was deeply stressful for my wife and my kids, but there were lighter moments.”

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