Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery has confirmed her engagement to Jasper Waller-Bridge, the brother of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The happy news comes six years after Michelle mourned the loss of her fiancé, John Dineen.
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Michelle, 40, and Jasper, 34, shared the news of their engagement in The Times. The couple are believed to have met through friends in 2019 and made their first public appearance together at the Rome Film Festival.
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The announcement read: "The engagement is announced between Jasper, son of Michael Waller-Bridge of King's Lynn, Norfolk, and Teresa Waller-Bridge of Battersea, London, and Michelle Dockery, younger daughter of Michael and Lorraine Dockery of Gidea Park, Essex."
The actress is most known for playing Lady Mary Crawley on the beloved period drama Downton Abbey, while Jasper is a film and TV producer.
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Michelle, who is set to reprise her role as Lady Mary in the second film, spoke to The Guardian back in 2017 about her life since the death of her fiancé, who sadly lost his fight against cancer in 2015 aged just 34.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe actress is engaged to Jasper Waller-Bridge
In the interview, Michelle spoke of how she dealt with John's illness. She said: "I never lost hope. No. I'm not exaggerating when I say that John did not complain once, never, not once, and that gave us strength. It's what keeps you going, that positivity – to never lose that hope for a miracle. I couldn't have done it any other way."
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Michelle told the paper that she found the similarities between her Downton character Mary's storyline as a young widow and her own life difficult. She said: "We were engaged, and married at heart, and so I do consider myself a widow."
© Photo: Getty ImagesMichelle with her late partner John
Michelle and John are thought to have started dating in 2013, after being introduced by Michelle's Downton co-star Allen Leech. They kept their relationship out of the spotlight, but the star spoke briefly about the romance in September 2014, saying: "I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland." John proposed the following year.
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