He helped mend her broken heart after a painful split from her husband.But four months after it began, the romance between Kate Winslet and Louis Dowler is over.
The couple first met at a mutual friend's party shortly after Kate announced the end of her seven year marriage to Sam Mendes.Weeks after they began dating, the actress introduced model Louis to her parents, and there were high hopes their relationship would go the distance. But it was not to be.
"Louis was just the tonic Kate needed after her painful split from Sam and they had a wonderful time," a friend close to the couple told the Daily Mail."However, they have realised their relationship isn’t working and Kate needs space to be on her own. "She is very grateful to Louis for helping her pick her life back up after her marriage ended and they had a lot of fun together, but she felt it had come to an end and wants to concentrate on her career and children."
Kate and Cornwall-born Louis – both 35 – had seemed blissfully happy since the start of their romance this summer.The normally reticent actress was seen exercising with her new beau on the streets of New York, and the pair put on a very public display of affection on the red carpet in Madrid.They had also reportedly made plans to rent a home together while the star made her new film, Contagion, in Chicago, travelling back to New York at the weekends to spend time with her children.But Louis, who has fronted campaigns for Burberry and Paul Smith, has since returned to London alone.
"Louis was all for supporting Kate in Chicago and has bonded really well with her children. But Kate felt she needed to go alone in the end and have time to herself," one friend said. "She feels she has rushed into things and wants to be alone to find out what it is she wants."
Kate is mum to Mia, ten, from her first marriage to director Jim Threapleton which lasted from 1998 until 2001.She also has a seven-year-old son, Joe, with English director Sam, whom she wed in 2003.