Monica Bellucci opens up about romance with Tim Burton for first time: ‘I love him’

The pair were first romantically linked in February

Monica Bellucci has spoken publicly about her relationship with Tim Burton for the first time, after the pair sparked rumours that they were dating in February.

The Italian screen siren, 58, said she “loves” the 64-year-old filmmaker and that their meeting was something that “rarely happens in life”.

In a new interview with Elle France, Bellucci said: “What can I say… I’m glad I met the man, first of all.

“It’s one of those encounters that rarely happens in life… I know the man, I love him, and now I’m going to meet the director, another adventure begins.

“I love Tim,” she added. “And I have great respect for Tim Burton.”

The pair were spotted walking arm-in-arm and sharing a kiss outside The Ritz Paris hotel on Valentine’s Day. They had reportedly been already dating for four months by then, after they saw one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October 2022.

They first met 16 years ago on the red carpet at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, but reportedly reconnected in Lyon.

The Matrix Reloaded star was an honorary guest at the Lumiere Film Festival and presented Burton with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award.

Currently, the model and actor is shooting Beetlejuice 2 with Burton in London.

Tim Burton reacts as he receives the Lumiere Award from Italian actress Monica Bellucci during the award ceremony of the 14th edition of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon, central-eastern France, on October 21, 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

Bellucci told the magazine: “I love this dream world where the monsters are kind, like we can turn our darker aspects into something bright, forgiving.

“Tim Burton’s films talk about that a lot.”

The Edward Scissorhands director was previously in a long-term relationship with Helena Bonham-Carter. They were together for 13 years before separating in 2014 and share two sons, Billy, 20, and Neil, 16.

The former couple famously lived in adjoining houses in Belsize Park and later connected the properties, but kept their living situation separate.

The Crown star spoke candidly about her and Burton’s separation last year and described it as a “painful divorce” although the pair had never married. She is currently dating art historian Rye Dag Holmnoe, who is more than 20 years her junior.

Meanwhile, Bellucci has been married twice before, to Italian photographer Claudia Carlos Basso, and then to French actor Vincent Cassell.

Her marriage to Basso lasted just six months. She married Cassell in 1999 and divorced in 2013, and they share two daughters, Deva and Leonie.

In 2009, Cassell described Bellucci as his “first real love” and said that although working together doesn’t work for some married actors, it did for them.

“It’s fun to spend all day with someone you like, but we keep work and life separate,” he said at the time. “We don’t lie in bed comparing scripts before going to sleep.”