--- title: Emma Thompson on Heartbreak Behind Love Actually Scene description: Emma Thompson revealed that her acting in one of Love Actually's most famous scenes was inspired by misfortune in her own love life. canonical: https://time.com/5179488/emma-thompson-love-actually-cheating-scene/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-28T19:45:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:41.254Z og:title: Emma Thompson Channeled Real Heartbreak for Love Actually og:description: "I had my heart very badly broken" og:url: https://time.com/5179488/emma-thompson-love-actually-cheating-scene/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c92e78ed3ed5e0c/6988791f524fc06a86df64a6/love-actually-alan-rickman-emma-thompson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: love-actually-alan-rickman-emma-thompson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emma Thompson Channeled Real Heartbreak for Love Actually twitter:description: "I had my heart very badly broken" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c92e78ed3ed5e0c/6988791f524fc06a86df64a6/love-actually-alan-rickman-emma-thompson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Emma Thompson Drew on Real-Life Heartbreak to Nail That _Love Actually_ Affair Scene ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. "I had my heart very badly broken"_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 28, 2018 7:45 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 28, 2018 7:45 PM UTC [_Love Actually_](http://time.com/5101596/hugh-grant-love-actually-dance/)may have been gracing our screens every [Christmas season](http://time.com/5047224/best-christmas-movies/) for the past 15 years, but there are apparently still hidden depths of the perennially beloved [rom-com](http://time.com/4670275/valentines-day-rotten-tomatoes-romance-movies/) to explore. While speaking at a fundraiser for the Tricycle Theatre in London on Sunday, Emma Thompson revealed that her acting in one of the movie’s most famous scenes was inspired by misfortune in her own love life. “That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it’s something everyone’s been through,” she said of the sequence when Karen discovers that her husband (Alan Rickman) is cheating on her, according to [_The_](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/emma-thompson-love-actually-scene-crying-kenneth-branagh-affair-divorce-helena-bonham-carter%5Fuk%5F5a9681c7e4b07dffeb6dd8d9)[ _Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/emma-thompson-love-actually-scene-crying-kenneth-branagh-affair-divorce-helena-bonham-carter%5Fuk%5F5a9681c7e4b07dffeb6dd8d9). Thompson went on to elaborate on her experience with infidelity, referencing the alleged affair that her now-ex husband Kenneth Branagh had with Helena Bonham Carter during their marriage. “I had my heart very badly broken by Ken,” she said. “So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me. Well it wasn’t exactly that, but we’ve all been through it.” Thompson and Branagh divorced in 1995\. 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