Why did Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy split
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Anne-Marie Duff’s X-rated gaffe during chat with Prince Charles

The couple were married for ten years before their shock split

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Anne-Marie Duff, star of Shameless and The Salisbury Poisonings, has revealed that she once dropped an X-rated clanger while chatting with Prince Charles.

In a recent interview the actress spoke about the “embarrassing” moment she made a frank admission about her then-husband, actor James McAvoy, in conversation with the Duke of Cornwall.

Why did Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy split
Anne Marie-Duff said she made an X-rated gaffe in a chat with Prince Charles (Credit: SplashNews.com)

The royal had asked about their relationship and how it works, given how busy they are with their respective careers.

Anne-Marie told The Guardian: “My most embarrassing moment involved Prince Charles. I was at a premiere with my ex-husband.

“Prince Charles said, ‘I suppose you two never see each other’. I said, ‘We see each other in bed.'”

Prince Charles
Prince Charles asked about Anne-Marie’s relationship with then-husband James McAvoy (Credit: ALPR/AdMedia / SplashNews.com)

The actress plays hero Tracy Daszkiewicz as she leads the cast of the emotional BBC drama.

When her character experiences relationships on screen, many fans will have questions about the star’s personal life off-screen.

Read more: Who is Ross Cassidy and is he still friends with Sergei Skripal after the Salisbury poisonings?

For instance, why did Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy split and is she dating anyone now?

Here’s everything you need to know…

Why did Anne-Marie Duff and James McAvoy split?

Anne-Marie and James were married for 10 years and have one son together.

But in 2016, the couple announced that they were separating.

Read more: Who died in the Salisbury Poisonings attack and what is Novichok?

At the time, they released a statement, which read: “It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce.

“We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son.”

Anne-Marie Duff (Credit: Splash News)
Anne-Marie has son Brendan with her ex (Credit: Splash News)

It continued: “We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child’s privacy during this time.”

Anne-Marie discussed their break-up during an interview with the Times in 2018.

“Divorce is a profound, difficult experience. It just is. It’s a bit like you go to bed and you wake up holding hands in a hurricane. And nobody gave you any storm warnings,”she said.

Read more: What happened to DS Nick Bailey after the Salisbury poisonings?

“And if you are recognisable, you can’t leave the hurricane at home, because you walk down the street and everyone knows you are holding hands with the hurricane.

“They mean well and they are well-wishers, but they are strangers so you have to deal with that for a while and be as big a version of yourself as you can be.”

James McAvoy (Credit: Splash News)
James McAvoy is in a new relationship (Credit: Splash News)

What has James McAvoy said about the split?

Together star James and Anne-Marie are extremely tight-lipped when it comes to their personal lives.

However, during an interview with Mr Porter magazine, he was asked about how he was coping following the break-up.

“My life has changed massively. At the same time so much has stayed the same,” he said.

Read more: Where is Tracy Daszkiewicz now? Salisbury poisonings hero’s true story revealed

“One of the things that’s stayed the same is that I still don’t talk about my personal life, really.”

James added: “Me and Anne-Marie, when we were together, it was our policy not to speak about each other in public.

“We rarely broke that and if we did, it was for tiny things – ‘Yes, we are cooking turkey this Christmas’ – and that policy still stands.

“Even separated, we’re still respectful of each other and committed to doing that publicly and personally.”

Who is Anne-Marie Duff dating now?

The actress is thought to currently be single.

Since her divorce, the actress has been prioritising spending more time with her son Brendan.

Instead of taking on film and TV jobs, she signed up for stage work.

Anne-Marie portrays Tracy Daszkiewicz in The Salisbury Poisonings (Credit: BBC)

Anne-Marie told the Times: “(Theatre) also meant I could be with my boy. That’s a massive thing for me. It’s all about logistics when you’ve got a kid, isn’t it?

“Perhaps I needed to inhabit myself a bit more again.”

Meanwhile, James is now in a relationship with production assistant Lisa Liberati.

According to the Daily Mail, the couple secretly got married last year.

The couple confirmed their relationship on social media just months after his divorce was finalised.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor