The cast from Downton Abbey all descended to Chiswick over the weekend to witness Michelle Dockery's big day. The actress, who is famed for playing Lady Mary in the beloved period drama, tied the knot with Jasper Waller-Bridge in a beautiful church ceremony, which was attended by various cast and crew members as well as other acting royalty.
One of the special guests included Michelle's co-star Allen Leech, who was there with his beautiful wife Jessica Blair Herman.
© Splash News / ShutterstockThe day would have been particularly poignant for Allen as it's believed he was the one who had introduced Michelle to her late fiancé John Dineen.
The actress was left heartbroken in 2015 when the Irish publicist died following a battle against a rare form of cancer aged 34. Michelle kept their relationship out of the spotlight, but was understood to have started dating John in September 2013.
Michelle rarely speaks about her personal life in interviews, but once admitted in 2014: "I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland. We were introduced by Allen Leech. That's all you need to know!"
© SplashNews.comAccording to The Times, Allen - who starred as Tom Branson in Downton Abbey - had spoken fondly about their relationship, admitting he knew they'd hit it off.
"John's like family to me and I knew he'd really get on with Michelle," he previously said. "She's a great girl - probably as far from Lady Mary as you could imagine."
Back in 2017, Michelle spoke to The Guardian about her life since the tragic loss of John. "I never lost hope," she said of his illness. "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."
© Photo: Getty ImagesMichelle 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."
The actress said that to deal with her grief, she threw herself into work and also planned to take some time off to come to terms with her loss and perhaps go travelling.
In January 2022, Michelle confirmed her engagement to TV and film producer Jasper, the brother of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. They 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.
