When Anna Wintour and beloved British actor Bill Nighy arrived at the Met Gala arm in arm, they seemed to confirm a romance that has been rumored for years — days after the US Vogue editor evaded questions about their relationship.
The pair, both 73, who have been close since 2010, sparked dating rumors again in 2021 following Wintour’s divorce from her husband of 20 years, Shelby Bryan. When her second marriage ended in 2020, it was reported that the editor dumped her Texan husband because she was “bored” with him.
In August 2021, rumors began to circulate that Wintour had found a new flame in her old boyfriend Nighy after the pair were spotted eating dinner together in Rome. Nighy himself has not been publicly in a relationship since his divorce from his long-term partner Diana Quick in 2008, with whom he shares a daughter, Mary.
In 2018, Nighy even addressed the speculation that had been going on for nearly a decade, but seemed to brush it off when he said, “There are a lot of rumors about me and probably about Anna.”
And in an interview last year, he refused to be guided by what he described as “something very close to gossip.”
American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and British actor Bill Nighy, both 73, seemed to confirm their long rumored romance when they arrived at the 2023 Met Gala in New York last night.
Wintour’s first marriage was to David Shaffer in 1984, who was 10 years her senior. They had two children, Charles and Bee, but in 1999 the couple divorced and Anna began dating Shelby Bryan.
The Vogue editor seemed to befriend Nighy about 13 years ago when they started attending fashion weeks together – something they did several times during their friendship.
In 2010, the pair seemed very close when they sat next to each other at the Nicole Farhi Spring/Summer show during London Fashion Week.
In a photo from the event, the friends sat very close together as Wintour leaned back to chat with someone in the second row. They both smiled as they watched the runway show.
At this stage, however, there was no indication that the pair were more than just friends – and indeed they were joined front row at LFW two years later by Nighy’s then-ex, Diana Quick.
In January 2020, the pair provided a cozy display at the Paul Smith 50th Anniversary show during Paris Fashion Week
One of Wintour and Nighy’s first public outings together was in 2010 at Nicole Farhi’s Spring/Summer 2011 show at London Fashion Week
The trio looked pale as they sat together watching another Nicole Farhi show at the Royal Courts of Justice in 2012.
As well as fashion shows, the two also have a mutual love of theater – and in 2018 they were spotted together in London watching ‘The Jungle’, a play about the refugee crisis in Calais. Page six reported.
While Wintour and Nighy have made many public appearances together, perhaps it’s their intimate dinners that have sparked more speculation that they might be more than just friends.
2020, Page six reported that the pair had eaten together at Sant Ambroeus on New York’s Madison Avenue — and Wintour had even been spotted without her signature sunglasses.
A source told the magazine that Wintour looked “happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
They added, “Anna was beaming the entire time. She looked happy and in good company. She had beautiful make-up and she smiled so much – she had her sunglasses off all the time!’
Wintour, Nighy and Nighy’s ex Diana Quick, whom he divorced in 2008, looked hot at a Nicole Farhi show at London Fashion Week, 2012
Nighy and Quick (pictured in 2012) were together from 1982 to 2008 and share a daughter, Mary. The pair have always remained friends
Anna Wintour was with Shelby Bryan for 20 years and the couple were married for 16 years, following her divorce from first husband David Shaffer
The dinner date came just days after the couple put on a cozy display at the Paul Smith Fall/Winter 50th Anniversary show during Paris Fashion Week.
As they sat in the front row, Nighy looked sharp in a navy blue suit and thick-rimmed glasses, while Wintour kept her eyes covered with sunglasses and wore a metallic coat with a fur hood.
In one photo, Nighy put his hand on Wintour’s arm as they seemed to get closer.
As the Covid lockdowns ended dining out, Nighy and Wintour were not seen together for a while, until August 2021 when they enjoyed dinner ar Pierluigi in Rome.
At the time, tongues were wagging over reports that Nighy had been spotted buying red roses for his dinner party before meeting her.
Just days before the pair appeared arm-in-arm at the Met Gala, Wintour dodged questions about the nature of their relationship during an interview with The Telegraph.
When asked about Nighy and speculation, she said: ‘I’m very established in British newspapers.
‘My father was an editor at Fleet Street, my brother [Patrick Wintour] works for The Guardian. I read them all online in the evenings.’
Just a year earlier, Nighy gave an interview to the same newspaper in which he was asked the same questions about Wintour.
He replied, ‘I’d like to answer that. But if I did, I’d be engaging readers in something very close to gossip, and I know they’d never forgive me for that.”