An unexpected connection. After meeting on set in 2017, Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup have continued to build a strong foundation over the years.
Their romance came one year after Watts and Liev Schreiber ended their relationship following 11 years together. “Over the past few months we’ve come to the conclusion that the best way forward for us as a family is to separate as a couple,” the exes, who share sons Sasha and Kai, said in a statement in September 2016.
At the time, the Mulholland Drive star addressed where things stand between them. “I’m single. I’m coparenting,” Watts told Vogue Australia in 2017. “There are good days and bad days. Liev and I are on great terms and we’re trying to do our absolute best for the sake of the children, and we hope to keep moving forward in that way. He’s [a] fantastic dad, a wonderful, wonderful man, and we still want the absolute best for each other. So, that’s pretty much all I’ll say.”
Following their split, the Australia native sparked dating speculation with Crudup while they promoted their Netflix series, Gypsy. A source exclusively told Us Weekly that the actress’ new relationship didn’t affect her coparenting bond with Schreiber.
“Naomi and Liev are on great terms,” the source shared in August 2017. “They were in the Hamptons with the kids this weekend and are trying very hard to be civil and able to be around each other for the kids.”
Crudup, for his part, shares a son with ex Mary-Louise Parker. The Almost Famous actor previously made headlines when he left Parker while she was six months pregnant for Claire Danes in 2003. Crudup and Danes dated for four years before calling it quits in 2006.
Schreiber has also weighed in on having a healthy relationship with his ex-girlfriend’s new man. “It’s important to support each other, you know? It’s really important. I was making some jokes this morning at breakfast about mommy with the boys, and their eyes light up when I talk about her,” the California native, who is dating Taylor Neisen, recalled during a joint interview with Watts to PorterEdit in 2017. “You can see how important it is to them that their parents care about each other and that no matter what happens, you continue to try and do that.”
He added: “You build a life with someone and things change. And I think the way we’ve looked at it is that we’ll always be partners and that’s what kind of keeps us together and keeps us amicable. But I think we’re more than that. I think we also genuinely really care about each other.”
Scroll down to relieve Watts and Crudup’s low-key romance: