--- title: Michelle Williams on Heath Ledger Home description: Find out what Michelle Williams said about how painful it was to leave the Brooklyn house she shared with Heath Ledger. canonical: https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-24T14:13:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:30.347Z og:title: Michelle Williams Was 'Inconsolable' After Leaving Home She Shared With Heath Ledger og:description: 'How will he be able to find us?' og:url: https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d4a37f2b5e0460/6988b6f08fd2ee497d3557fd/michelle-williams-heath-ledger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5103 og:image:height: 2870 og:image:alt: NBC's "74th Annual Golden Globe Awards" - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Williams Was 'Inconsolable' After Leaving Home She Shared With Heath Ledger twitter:description: 'How will he be able to find us?' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d4a37f2b5e0460/6988b6f08fd2ee497d3557fd/michelle-williams-heath-ledger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Williams Was 'Inconsolable' After Leaving Home She Shared With Heath Ledger > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=d11369e7-591c-484a-871e-6e381df01381&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Lindsay Kimble / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Contributor Jan 24, 2017 2:13 PM UTC  BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 08: 74th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS -- Pictured: Actress Michelle Williams arrives to the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017\. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 08: 74th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS -- Pictured: Actress Michelle Williams arrives to the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017\. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) Kevork Djansezian/NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images via Getty Images by [Lindsay Kimble / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Contributor Jan 24, 2017 2:13 PM UTC When it came time to move on from the [Brooklyn home](http://people.com/archive/cover-story-heath-and-michelle-a-fairy-tale-gone-wrong-vol-69-no-5/) she and late ex [Heath Ledger](http://people.com/tag/heath-ledger/) shared, [Michelle Williams](http://people.com/tag/michelle-williams) says she was more than brokenhearted. “At that time, I was inconsolable,” she [tells _WSJ. Magazine_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/through-it-all-michelle-williams-is-having-a-blast-1485187247) in the February issue, “because I felt, ‘How will he be able to find us?’ ” The [_Manchester By the Sea_](http://people.com/movies/manchester-by-the-sea-starring-casey-affleck-as-a-man-of-constant-sorrow-is-a-heartbreaking-masterpiece/) actress adds, “This is where we lived, and he won’t know where we are. And now I can’t believe I thought that. Maybe that’s what’s making me cry is I feel sad for the person who thought he won’t be able to locate \[us\].” Williams, 36, and Ledger dated for three years and share [daughter Matilda](http://people.com/babies/michelle-williams-motherhood-favorite-part-hearing-word-mama/), now 11\. Ledger [died at the age of 28 in January 2008](http://people.com/celebrity/heath-ledger-found-dead/) due to an accidental mixture of prescription drugs – just four months [after the pair split](http://people.com/archive/cover-story-heath-and-michelle-a-fairy-tale-gone-wrong-vol-69-no-5/). Now, nine years later, the three-time Oscar nominee — who’s [back in the awards race](http://people.com/movies/michelle-williams-busy-philipps-attend-golden-globes-together-continue-tradition/)this year with Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations for her role as a grieving mom in _Manchester_ — says she’s focused on parenthood rather than relationships. “It’s hard to romanticize romance when you’re 36,” she says. “When you’ve been a parent for 11 years and you’ve done it alone, you don’t have romantic ideals, because you have a practical understanding that you can do it by yourself. The romantic idea of meeting your person and having a storybook family life that looks like the model you grew up with – that doesn’t really exist for me.” Though Williams has [dated throughout the years](http://people.com/celebrity/michelle-williams-jason-segel-split-2), she tells _WSJ. Magazine_, “I’ve not gotten married because I have not had a person to whom I would — so I have not let my sense of conformity or duty override my instincts.” As for her acclaimed turn in _Manchester_, Williams she was “moved to tears” by her character Randi’s “bravery.” Randi’s tragic loss was hard for Williams to grapple with. “If it happened to me, I wouldn’t be so brave. Sometimes your mind drifts there, to the worst thing you can possibly imagine, and you say, ‘How would I cope with the unimaginable?’ I can’t imagine going on.” Of her own life as [a single parent](http://people.com/babies/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-single-parent/), Williams says, “Sometimes it can feel alienating; at school functions, there’s only two of us single mothers. Everyone else has a partner, so we buddy up.” She says she does everything she can to always be there for Matilda’s big moments, but admits of her career: “I worry about the next job and when it’s coming and will I be able to get it, but when you’re looking at something, there’s also the criteria of timing, the school calendar, the location, the duration, and just where we’re at as a family.” Williams says she sometimes finds projects that “balance up perfectly” – like [starring in _Cabaret_](http://people.com/celebrity/michelle-williams-in-cabaret-on-broadway-see-the-photo/) close to home on Broadway – but that it’s not the norm. “We haven’t been on location in five years; I haven’t taken jobs that put us on the road,” she says. “Everyone told me to travel while \[Matilda’s\] young, but they hit a certain age, and they want a life,” she tells _WSJ. Magazine_. “So we’re stuck – in a good place. There’s a lot of constancy. She’s in such a good place that I don’t worry about the stability of our unit when I have to go back to work.” The February issue of [_WSJ. Magazine_](http://www.wsj.com/public/page/magazine-index.html) hits newsstands on Jan. 28. _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/movies/michelle-williams-on-leaving-home-with-heath-ledger/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/"},"headline":"Michelle Williams Was 'Inconsolable' After Leaving Home She Shared With Heath Ledger","datePublished":"2017-01-24T14:13:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:30.347Z","description":"'How will he be able to find us?'","url":"https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d4a37f2b5e0460/6988b6f08fd2ee497d3557fd/michelle-williams-heath-ledger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lindsay Kimble / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d4a37f2b5e0460/6988b6f08fd2ee497d3557fd/michelle-williams-heath-ledger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NBC's \"74th Annual Golden Globe Awards\" - Arrivals","caption":"NBC's \"74th Annual Golden Globe Awards\" - Arrivals","creditText":"Kevork Djansezian/NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4645026/michelle-williams-heath-ledger-home/","name":"Michelle Williams Was 'Inconsolable' After Leaving Home She Shared With Heath Ledger"}}]}] ```