Claire Danes and her ex, Billy Crudup, had an amiable run-in at the 2025 NYU Tisch School of the Arts Gala Event.
Claire Danes and Billy Crudup had a notable reunion at the 2025 NYU Tisch School of the Arts Gala, nearly two decades after their highly publicized and controversial relationship. Their past romance, which began in 2003, drew significant attention when Crudup left his then-partner, Mary Louise Parker, who was seven months pregnant, to be with Danes. Despite the history, their interaction at the gala appeared cordial and friendly, showcasing a moment of maturity and grace. It's always intriguing to see how time can reshape relationships and perspectives.
Parker’s son William Atticus Parker, now 21, was born in January 2004.
At the time, the Almost Famous alum alluded the controversy over his breakup with Parker and relationship with Danes while expressing reticence of discussing his personal life. "First and foremost, it is personal, painful and involves an infant," he told The New York Times in an email published as part of an October 2004 profile on him, "and does not deserve to be exploited to sate the appetites of circulation counters and bored readers."
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"I have never indulged our society's misguided notion that my personal life is relevant to my work," he continued, "so any reporting surrounding that is necessarily hearsay, speculation or fantasy. Each published report is based only on the trade of suffering."
Indeed, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup went their separate ways in 2006 after their whirlwind and controversial romance. Claire later found her partner in Hugh Dancy, marrying him and building a family together. They now share three children: Cyrus, 12, Rowan, 6, and a daughter born in 2023. Meanwhile, Billy Crudup took a similar path of love and commitment, marrying Naomi Watts in 2023. It's interesting to see how life has unfolded for both of them since their days together.
It wasn’t until nearly a decade after the breakup that Danes shared her perspective on their relationship and detailed the backlash she faced, calling it "a scary thing." "That was really hard. I didn’t know how to not do that," the My So-Called Life alum on The Howard Stern Show in 2015. "I was just in love with him, and needed to explore that, and I was 24."
Claire Danes reflected on the consequences of her past decisions, acknowledging that at the time she "didn't quite know what those consequences would be." Despite the challenging chapter in her and Billy Crudup's shared history, she shared that they are now on friendly terms, describing their relationship as "friendly, we're friends." Their amiable run-in at the 2025 NYU Tisch School of the Arts Gala seems to reaffirm that sentiment, showcasing how time and maturity can lead to reconciliation and amicable connections. It's a heartening reminder of the possibilities for growth and grace in relationships.
