Benjamin Millepied and Natalie Portman’s relationship is going through a pretty rough patch at the moment after the former was caught having an affair with 25-year-old climate activist Camile Étienne. While the pair have been married for over ten years, a look back over Millepied’s past relationships reveals a pattern that may have foreshadowed the affair.
Millepied met Portman on the set of the 2009 Darren Aronofsky film Black Swan. He was the ballet choreographer for the complicated maneuvers Portman had to perform. Over the course of filming, the pair became close and began dating that same year, marrying in 2012 and having two children together.
While working on the project, Millepied was living with his live-in girlfriend at the time, U.S. ballet dancer Isabella Boylston. Although the pair weren’t actually married, the relationship was long-term, as they shared an apartment in New York. Details surrounding the choreographer’s previous relationship are scarce. It’s unknown exactly how long he was dating Boylston before he met Portman. Rumors at the time suggested that there was some overlap between his courtship of Portman and his previous relationship, however, nothing has been confirmed.
Isabella Boylston is a professional ballet dancer, training from the age of seven, and joining the American Ballet Theatre in 2005. She’s taken numerous lead roles in performances such as La Bayadère, and Don Quixote and has gone on to have a successful career since breaking things off with Millepied. In 2018, she even appeared in Red Sparrow as a stunt double for Jennifer Lawrence.
Of course, Millepied’s actions at the end of his previous relationship certainly show a pattern with his dating behavior. Although reports suggest that Portman and Millepied are trying their hardest to work through it together. However, it would be interesting to hear what Boylston has to say on the matter after this shocking revelation.