Actress Natalie Portman met dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied in 2009 while on set for her iconic role in Black Swan. He’d been hired to help her train as a convincing ballet dancer and to choreograph dance routines for the movie. They had chemistry pretty quickly into these training sessions, and started dating soon after shooting wrapped.
They have married after and share two children, their son, Aleph, born in 2011, and a daughter, Amalia, welcomed in 2017. In the summer of 2023, the news broke that Millepied had allegedly conducted an extra-marital affair. A source told People in June that they may still be working on repairing their relationship.
“He knows he made an enormous mistake, and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together,” they explained.
In March 2024, Portman’s rep confirmed to People that her divorce from Millepied was finalized in France that February. Portman quietly filed for it eight months before and kept it secret.
Here’s a complete timeline for Portman and Millepied’s relationship, from start to end.
2009
Portman said during a SiriusXM Town Hall interview that she started to fall in love with Millepied when he was teaching her to dance.
“I met my husband on it, so I think I was in, like, dreamland,” she said of Black Swan.
“We had a whole, like, he was teaching me to dance,” she continued. “You know, one of those romantic [stories]…It was definitely exciting and fun. It was beautiful. I don’t know about instant [love]. It was like I really got to know him and that was when it seemed like, ‘Oh, this is the person.’”
2010
Rumors swirled early the next year before the movie premiered that Portman and Millepied were dating after they were spotted out going for meals in Venice and even walking Portman’s dog.
October 2010
On October 7, 2010, Millepied performed as one of the principal dancers at the New York City Ballet Fall Gala. Portman was spotted at the event, but they didn’t walk the red carpet together.
December 2010
They suddenly hard-launched their relationship at the end of the year, announcing that they were both engaged and expecting their first child. Jewelry designer Jamie Wolf described the conflict-free engagement ring to People, saying, “Ben was exceptionally thoughtful and dedicated and patient to make sure we had everything right. We wanted everything about the ring to speak to things that are important to Natalie.”
The engagement ring featured an antique diamond and recycled platinum.
In a rare statement, Portman said, “I have always kept my private life private, but I will say that I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience.”
January 2011
Millepied was Portman’s date at the 68th Annual Golden Globes on January 16, and they were very affectionate in public.
February 2011
They went red carpet official after their engagement, walking together on Feb. 27, 2011, at the Academy Awards. Portman won Best Actress for her role in Black Swan that night and dedicated the win in part to her fiancé.
“To my love, Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed the film and has now given me my most important role of my life,” she said.
June 2011
Their son Aleph was born on June 14, 2011.
August 2012
The couple were married on Aug. 4, 2012, in Big Sur, California. They had a Jewish ceremony, exchanging vows under a chuppah. Portman wore a gown made by Rodarte. The event was star-studded, including guests like Macauley Culkin, Diane Sawyer, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.
2014
The family moved to Paris for Millepied’s new job as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Portman told Marie Claire that she loves Los Angeles but was thrilled to get a chance to live in Paris.
“It’s one of the most exciting places to be in the world right now,” she said. “It’s really central in terms of the arts. It feels like things are happening in L.A., you know? New York is more where art is bought than where art is made. When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked. Everyone dreams of living in Paris.”
2016
Two years later, Millepied left his position at the Paris Opera Ballet, and they returned. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Portman seemed happy to be back in Los Angeles.
“Everyone smiles a lot here,” she said. “It’s so nice. They’re very cool in France. I didn’t realize that I got used to it until I got here, and I was so surprised when I would get in an elevator, and someone would start a conversation. Or someone would smile at my child. I’d be like, ‘What a good person.’”
September 2016
Portman appeared at the Venice Film Festival premiere for her movie Planetarium in a fitted white gown that revealed she was expecting a second child.
October 2016
In October, Millepied shared details with Vanity Fair about how he and Portman balance their artistic careers in different fields.
“Ultimately I think as a couple, you automatically learn from one another, and hopefully feed each other in ways that are positive,” he said. “But I think, work … we keep very separate. I think that’s important.”
February 2017
Their second child, a daughter named Amalia, was born on Feb. 22, 2017. Portman’s rep told People, “Mother and baby are happy and healthy.”
November 2017
During the Vulture Festival in 2017, Us Weekly reported that Portman reflected on Black Swan and how it won her an Oscar and was where she found her husband.
“Yeah. The husband more,” she said, referring to which was more important. “It was really special, and making it was really wonderful and so fun. It was really incredible.”
February 2018
Portman starred in Vox Lux, and Millepied came on board to choreograph the film’s dance routines. Her character is a pop star, so it was pretty important.
“My husband choreographed the performance that she has at the end … It was so fun. It was kind of like living out my childhood dreams of, like, being a pop star and having a microphone and then, you know, getting to work with my husband. which is always so fun,” she told ExtraTV.
November 2018
Before Vox Lux premiered, Portman shared more about working with Millepied.
“It was really fun because I think he knows me so well, and what my strengths and weaknesses are in dancing, that he was really able to create choreography very seamlessly and quickly because we had very little time,” she said. “So it was very convenient that he knew me so well, and that he’s as talented as he is…Just to see the ease and the expertise that he has, and of course with different kinds of dance too, was really, really stunning.”
September 2020
The family moved again in late 2020 to Australia so Portman could work on Thor: Love and Thunder.
July 2022
The film premiered two years later, after they relocated back to Los Angeles. Millepied accompanied Portman to both the L.A. opening and the London premiere.
![thor love and thunder uk gala screening arrivals](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/natalie-portman-and-benjamin-millepied-attend-the-uk-gala-news-photo-1698862130.jpg?resize=640:* ""Thor: Love And Thunder" UK Gala Screening – Arrivals")
September 2022
Millepied’s film Carmen premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, and Portman celebrated her husband on Instagram. She shared photos of them smiling at one another on the red carpet, writing in the caption, “So proud of @benjaminmillepied and the entire cast & crew behind #Carmen. I can’t wait for you all to see this beautiful film.”
Millepied shared in an interview with People that Portman helped him as he worked on the movie, which was his first feature-length directorial project.
“I think also being on set and hearing what ignites her creativity, [as] a director, was something that I had heard,” adding that she “informed a lot of things for me” and that they “tend to” like the same films.
June 2023
A French outlet called Voici alleged that Milliepied had an affair with Camille Étienne, a 25-year-old climate activist.
A source told People, “It was short-lived and it is over. He knows he made an enormous mistake and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together. Natalie is incredibly private and has no intention of playing this out in the media. Her biggest priority is protecting her children and their privacy.”
August 2023
Later that summer, Millepied and Portman were seen at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Sydney with their son, Aleph, in photos shared by the Daily Mail.
September 2023
In September, Portman and Millepied were in Paris with their children and not wearing their wedding rings.
January 2024
In a January 8 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Portman seemingly hinted that she and Millepied had officially split. The piece stated that Portman “lives in Paris with her two children,” but made no mention of Millepied. Portman also attended to 81st Annual Golden Globes on January 7 alone. She wasn’t wearing her wedding ring. She was again pictured without her wedding ring at the 2024 Governors Awards on January 9.
The week after the awards, a source told Us Weekly that Portman is “still hurt,” but she’s getting a “fresh start” in the new year.
February 2024
Portman addressed her feelings about reports on her marriage in an interview with Vanity Fair. “It’s terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it,” she said.
She also spoke about her stance on her personal life and how much of it she’ll publicly share. “I got very protective of it very early on,” she said. “I chose a different name when I started, which was kind of an interesting way that I separated identities. I would get upset if someone at school called me Natalie Portman. I was like, if you know me, you know me as Natalie Hershlag at school. It was kind of an extreme bifurcation of identity that I’ve tried to integrate a little bit more as an adult. I felt like it was not accepting that both were part of me, that there wasn’t a ‘real’ me and a ‘pretend’ me, and that they didn’t necessarily have different names. And it’s not just two different versions, there are multitudes of ways other people see me, both public and private, and there are multitudes of ways I see myself. Somehow the intersection of all of those are part of me, and it’s important to have all of those within me and as me, as opposed to being like, that’s some external thing, this is the real thing.
“As I started having kids and a family, I started realizing that maybe it was not helpful to be like, there’s two of me. I have many interactions during my day as a public person. To exclude that from my experience is not real.”
March 2024
News broke on March 8 that Portman and Millepied had privately divorced. People reported that Portman and Millepied’s divorce was finalized in France during the last month. Portman had secretly filed for it eight months ago. Her rep confirmed the news to the outlet.
“It was initially really tough for her, but her friends rallied around her and helped get her through the worst of it,” a friend of the couple told the outlet. “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.”
Portman prioritized their children during that time. “Her biggest priority has been ensuring a smooth transition for her children,” the source said. “She and Ben really love their kids and are equally focused on being the best co-parents they can be. Nothing is more important.”
“Natalie hoped her marriage would be forever,” the friend said, “but she is at peace with where they are and now focused on their new normal as a family.”
July 2024
In an appearance on The Tonight Show in July, Portman referred to both her divorce and her viral moment with pop star Rihanna. The two stars met during fashion week and were filmed sharing a brief conversation in which Rihanna referred to Portman as a “bad bitch.”
“I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a bad bitch,” Portman joked with Fallon. “It was—it was exactly what I needed.”
She added, “It was a formative moment in my life.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.