
Martin Clunes’ Ex-Wife Stunned to Find Him Dating Doc Martin Co-Star After Returning from Holiday
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Martin Clunes, the beloved Doc Martin star, has experienced dramatic highs and lows in his personal life, including a tumultuous first marriage that ended in a fiery breakup. Before marrying his current wife, producer Philippa Braithwaite, Martin was married to actress Lucy Aston in 1990. Their relationship ended three years later in a heated argument that led Lucy to slam her wedding ring on the dinner table.
Reflecting on their split, Lucy told The Mirror in 1997 that the marriage collapsed after Martin told her she was “boring.” She said: “[Martin] told me I was boring and different and I just thought: ‘No more.’ I stood up and said, ‘Thanks for dinner – this is the end,’ and stormed out. I sat in the car shaking with rage”, reported by Birmingham Live.
Lucy described returning later to find Martin sitting amid takeout containers from their meal. “I took off my gold wedding ring, slammed it on the table, and walked out. We both knew it was over,” she added. Lucy was further devastated when she returned from a 10-week trip to the USA to discover Martin was already dating Philippa, his Doc Martin producer. She called the discovery a “bombshell.”
The pair finalized their divorce in 1997, the same year Martin married Philippa. Speaking about his first marriage, Martin told Weekend magazine in 2008: “I don’t know if I was searching for anything. Maybe I was. When I met Philippa, I was coming out of a rotten marriage and was very resistant to the idea of getting involved again.”
Lucy responded to his comments, saying: “I want Martin to stop telling everyone what a failure it was and what an awful time he had. In truth, I was the one who had a terrible time. I’ll always love Martin, but he needs to take responsibility for the collapse of our marriage instead of constantly dismissing it so scathingly in public.”
Now, Martin and Philippa have been happily married for 28 years and share a daughter, Emily, born in 1999. The family lives on a 130-acre farm in Dorset with horses, chickens, and other animals.
Reflecting on their relationship, Philippa described their working partnership as “a collaborative affair,” while Martin called working with his wife on Doc Martin a “dream job.” Their enduring bond has become a testament to the strength of their partnership both at home and on set.