Hollywood star Thandiwe Newton splits from husband Ol Parker and is urged to seek counselling
ACTRESS Thandiwe Newton has split from her husband of 24 years and been urged to seek counselling.
The star, 49, dramatically quit her role in the third Magic Mike film and is believed to be struggling amid the separation from Ol Parker, 52, with whom she has three kids.
She flew from London to the US last week and her team is hoping to get her support amid fears she is in “a bad place”.
“Stressed” Thandiwe is also said to have fired her UK agent after three decades.
Last week The Sun told how she had been involved in a row on the set of Magic Mike’s Last Dance with her co-star Channing Tatum.
She was replaced in the unspecified role by 55-year-old Salma Hayek.
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Warner Bros later said she had “made the difficult decision to step away from the production to deal with family matters.”
A source told PageSix in the US: “Thandiwe had been acting strange on set, she has been very highly strung.”
They added that her behaviour “caused so much disruption, it became clear she couldn’t play the role. There is a lot going on in her personal life.
“She and her husband have separated. She seemed so stressed, she even brought her two pet rabbits to her hotel for emotional support.
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“She fired her UK agent of three decades, and then her US agent Gaby Morgerman flew in from Los Angeles to try to calm things down.”
Thandiwe wed Ol, best known for directing 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in 1998.
They share daughters Ripley, 21, and Nico, 17, and son Booker Jombe, eight.
The couple have not been seen together in public since a holiday to Ibiza in mid-2020.
Representatives for Thandiwe did not respond when approached for comment.
Speaking in 2008 about the secret to a good marriage, she said: “You have to always make time to be together, trusting your instincts and forcing each other to talk. It’s all about communication and working through difficult times together.”
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The Mission: Impossible 2 and Line of Duty star was appointed OBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to film and charity.
Last year she said she was correcting her professional name to be Thandiwe, having been known as Thandie for 30 years because of a misspelling in her first movie.
