Natalie Portman Once Talked About Her ‘First Heartbreak’ — and it Might Have Been With ‘Star Wars’ Actor Hayden Christensen
While Star Wars fans are busy keeping up with The Mandalorian, we can’t forget about all the famous films that preceded it. Whether fans love them or hate them, Star Wars: Episode I, II, and III are staples in the franchise.
Episodes 2 and 3 featured Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen as love interests — and it seems their romance extended outside of film into real life. And when Portman once spoke of her first heartbreak, she may have been talking about Christensen.
Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen talked highly of each other in ‘Star Wars’
Portman and Christensen were the perfect match for the Star Wars films. Portman played Padmé Amidala, and Christensen was the infamous Anakin Skywalker. While their relationship in the movies ultimately didn’t work out once Skywalker turned to Darth Vader, the actors spoke highly of each other during interviews.
In one particular interview, Christensen noted he had to fall in love just a little bit with Portman in order to make the role of Skywalker more believable.
“Do you fall in love with Natalie just a little bit?” the interviewer asked.
“You know, you have to a little bit if you’re really going to believe yourself in the role,” Christensen answered. “We’re pretty good friends now, but you know, it’s something that you just have to sort of believe.”
Portman’s first heartbreak was likely with Christensen
Portman wanted to go to university more than she wanted to become a movie star, so she followed her dreams — but the adjustment was tough. According to Daily Mail, Portman revealed she had a few “dark moments” during undergrad. And heartbreak had something to do with it.
“Some combination of being 19, dealing with my first heartbreak, taking birth control pills that have since been taken off the market for their depressive side effects and spending too much time missing daylight during winter months, led me to some pretty dark moments,” she explained at Harvard College’s Class Day in 2015. “There were several occasions I started crying in meetings with professors, overwhelmed with what I was supposed to pull off when I could barely get out of bed in the morning.”
Christensen and Portman were rumored to have dated in the early 2000s after filming together in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. This timeline adds up to the heartbreak she talked about at Class Day.
Portman is married today — and it’s not to Christensen
While die-hard Star Wars fans may have hoped for Portman and Christensen to end up together in real life, such is not the case now. She’s married to Benjamin Millepied, a French dancer and choreographer she met while filming Black Swan. According to Brides, the couple got engaged back in 2010 and married in 2012.
As for Christensen, he lives a much more reclusive life and doesn’t appear to be dating anyone in the public eye in 2020. But it looks like he’s slated for an on-screen return. He’ll be reuniting with Ewan McGregor for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, and fans are more excited than ever to see Christensen back in action.
So, will Portman make a return to the small screen alongside the Star Wars cast? We’re not banking on it, but we’re sure she’ll be rooting her former co-stars on from afar.
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