Patrick Stewart called “shameless” by ex-wife for “diminishing” her in new book

Actor Lisa Dillon has called out her ex-husband Patrick Stewart for “diminishing” their five-year relationship in his memoir.

The Star Trek actor and Dillon – known for her role in the BBC series Cranford – were together from 2003 through 2007. They met while co-starring in a production of The Master Builder; Dillon was 23 at the time and Stewart was 62, and married to American television and film producer Wendy Neuss.

In his 2023 book Making It So: A Memoir, Stewart opened up about his relationship with Dillon saying: “And so, another divorce. I felt stupid and responsible … I had cheated on my wife with a younger woman – again.”

He continued: “And just like my affair with Jenny Hetrick, my time with Lisa Dillon would also prove to be relatively short … In a life chockablock with joy and success, my two failed marriages are my greatest regret.”

Speaking to The Times, Dillon shared her reaction to the X-Men actor’s characterization of their relationship. The two were able to remain good friends following the end of their romantic partnership but after reading what Steward wrote, she said: “I’m still in a place of turmoil with it all.”

“The impression he gives is that our relationship was very fleeting – that I was a silly affair that broke up a marriage – and he got caught out. But it’s not just about our nearly five years together – this is the most enduring friendship of my life. Or it was,” she told the publication. “In my heart of hearts, I always felt he would honour me properly if he were to write about me.”

Dillon was also hurt by Stewart’s suggestion that he actually never loved her. He wrote: “I remember the warning I had received from an older actor decades ago, that if you keep saying ‘I love you’ to someone in a play, you can drift into believing the sentiment to be true”.

The BBC actress shared that Stewart had “relocated his life from Los Angeles to be with me in England and we lived together almost immediately. Everybody had to be in the know because we were going to live this mature, loving life together. And I felt very loved by him.”

She continued, saying that she “always looked back at that period with pride… reading what he’s written has for the first time made me take on board my age” and that she can “see my vulnerability in a way that I never have before. For the first time, I’ve thought, ‘What did a 62-year-old man find attractive about me at 23?’”

In other film news, Nicolas Cage has confirmed that he’s in talks to star in the live-action Spider-Man Noir TV series.

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