Natalie Portman's Cryptic Words About 'Women's Freedom' May Point to Benjamin Millepied Divorce

Natalie Portman did a great job of keeping her divorce from Benjamin Millepied under the radar after his alleged affair. The public didn’t even find out it had occurred until after the papers were signed. So, fans won’t likely hear much more about the situation since the Oscar-winning likes to keep her private life out of the headlines, but she can certainly allude to her ex-husband in a subtle way.

A new interview with L’Officiel Italia seems to reference the issues she might have had in her 11-year marriage, but you have to read between the lines. When asked by the reporter if she ever thought about previous characters she’s played on screen, Portman had a curious, but poignant, response. “I tend to move on. I don’t dwell on past things, but there are some issues that I’ve addressed on multiple occasions, such as the role we play with others with respect to who we really are, particularly those that women have to play for different people in their lives,” she explained.

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While she’s talking about the roles she’s tackled, it feels like a similar approach to her marriage. Portman has bravely moved forward after the allegations of his infidelity surfaced in the French magazine, Voici, last year. “Natalie is coming out of a really tough and painful year, but she’s come out the other side of it stronger and is finding joy in her family, friends, and work,” a source told People. And Portman made one short, but powerful, statement about the rumors surrounding Millepied to Vanity Fair, noting she had “no desire to contribute” to the ongoing headlines because it was all so “terrible.”

Portman’s possibly veiled reference to why she looks for characters who are often searching “for freedom” in their lives could easily tie back to Millepied. “The freedom of women and the ability to tell their own story is a theme that often recurs, not intentionally, but in retrospect, I can say: ‘I am attracted to these themes,'” she said in a raw moment of transparency. Perhaps Portman didn’t realize that she might have been searching for something personally in her professional life — these rich, multi-layered women were fulfilling a need that she didn’t even see until she had ended her marriage to the ballet choreographer.

It makes the next chapter of Portman’s career one to watch because there’s a bit of mystery as to where she will go next. Now, that she’s put her troubles behind her, and her core focus is her two children, Aleph, 12, and Amalia, 6, the best may be yet to come for Portman.

Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity couples who met on set.

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