Billy Crudup and Claire Danes hug each other in shock reunion 22 years after their scandalous romance
Exes Billy Crudup and Claire Danes enjoyed a reunion as they both attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Gala on Monday.
The Watchmen star, 56, was seen greeting his ex-girlfriend, 45, as he stopped by her table at the event, which took place at Cipriani South Street in New York City, in a video shared by People.
All seemed cordial between the former pair, as the Homeland actress got up to give Billy a hug, nearly two decades after their split.
They were then seen chatting and smiling, with Crudup leaning in a number of times to hear what Claire was saying over the loud music.
They both seemingly attended without their significant others. Crudup — who received a Master of Fine Arts in acting from NYU in 1994 — married actress Naomi Watts, 56, in 2023. Meanwhile Claire has been wed to Hugh Dancy, 49, since 2009.
Claire’s and Billy’s relationship, which spanned from 2003 to 2007, was marked by significant controversy, after he left his ex-girlfriend, Mary Louise Parker, 60, while she was seven months pregnant, to be with Danes.
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Exes Billy Crudup, 56, and Claire Danes, 45, enjoyed a reunion as they both attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Gala on Monday (pictured at the event)
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During Monday’s event, Claire looked magnificent in a long emerald gown, and wore a chic cropped black blazer over it.
Her shoulder length blonde tresses were styled to the side and she accentuated her naturally stunning features with a touch of makeup.
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Meanwhile Billy looked suave in a navy suit with a white button-up underneath.
He rocked his salt and pepper hair slicked back, and sported a short grey beard.
Crudup also greeted Winnie Holzman, the creator of My So-Called Life, the ABC show starring Danes that aired in 1994 and 1995. Claire was at the event to honor Holzman.
Claire and Billy met while working on the 2003 film Stage Beauty.
Weeds actress Mary-Louise previously revealed that Crudup, whom she had been with for eight years, left her for Danes back in 2003, while she was pregnant with their son.
Parker and Crudup share son William Atticus Parker, 21, together.
Parker later had an on-again/off-again relationship with Crudup’s hunky Watchmen co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, 58. The duo, who starred in hit TV show Weeds together, got engaged in 2007, before breaking things off the next year.
Naomi Watts and her husband Billy Crudup attend the Golden Globes
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The Watchmen star was seen greeting his ex-girlfriend, who looked magnificent in a long emerald gown, as he stopped by her table at the event
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All seemed cordial between the former pair, as the Homeland actress got up to give Billy a hug, nearly two decades after their split
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They were seen chatting and smiling, with Crudup leaning in a number of times to hear what Claire was saying over the loud music
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Claire’s and Billy’s relationship, which spanned from 2003 to 2007, was marked by significant controversy; the duo seen in 2005 in Toronto
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Weeds actress Mary-Louise Parker, 60, revealed that Crudup, whom she had been with for eight years, left her for Danes while she was seven months pregnant; they are seen in 2002
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Parker and Crudup share son William Atticus Parker, 21, together; she is pictured with their son in 2020
Billy Crudup says his teen son questioned his dad’s acting
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In 2023, Parker gave a cordial response when she was asked about Crudup’s wedding to Naomi during an interview with The Guardian, saying ‘I wish them well.’
‘I honestly of course wish them every happiness because that’s my son’s father. So I’m happy for them. I’m happy they found each other,’ she added.
Mary-Louise broke her silence about that time in her life in her 2015 memoir Dear Mr. You. Danes also discussed the controversial romance that same year, and the backlash she received.
‘I was just in love with him. And needed to explore that and I was 24… I didn’t quite know what those consequences would be,’ she said during an interview with Howard Stern.
‘That was a scary thing,’ she said of the backlash she received. ‘That was really hard. I didn’t know how to not do that. It’s OK. I went through it. We’re friendly — we’re friends.’
When Billy and Claire split it was rumored that he had been ditched by Claire for another co-star, British actor Hugh.
After marrying in 2009, Claire and Hugh went on to welcome sons Cyrus, 12, Rowan, six, and a 19-month-old daughter.
Earlier this month it was reported that Claire and Hugh sold their New York City townhouse for nearly $10 million.
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Crudup has since moved on with actress Naomi Watts, 56. The pair wed in 2023; they are seen March 2025 in NYC
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Meanwhile Claire has been married to actor Hugh Dancy, 49, since 2009. They share sons Cyrus, 12, Rowan, six, and a 19-month-old daughter; the pair pictured in 2024 in NYC
Claire Danes and husband Hugh Dancy arrive to ‘Ezra’ premiere
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Their West Village home was listed for $9.75 million last August. The lovebirds purchased the home in 2012 for $6.9 million, when Claire was pregnant with their first child.
The New York Times reported last summer that the couple was looking for a larger space to accommodate their brood and other loved ones.
According to their real estate agent Tamer Howard, the family-of-five will remain living downtown in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile Billy has moved on with Naomi, after they met on the set of her 2017 Netflix series Gypsy.
It came a year after Naomi had split from her partner of 11 years, the actor Liev Schreiber, 57.
