Monica Bellucci & Vincent Cassel: French Cinema's Power Couple Parts Ways

What Happened

Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel met on the set of the 1996 French film L'Appartement, and their chemistry was undeniable both on and off screen. They married in 1999 and became the most celebrated couple in French cinema — the Italian beauty and the intense French actor who starred together in films like Irréversible and Dobermann. They had two daughters: Deva (born 2004) and Léonie (born 2010).

Despite appearing inseparable on screen and at film festivals, the couple lived a notably unconventional marriage. They maintained separate residences for much of their relationship and were open about the challenges of sustaining a marriage between two intensely busy careers. Cassel was famously candid in interviews about his views on monogamy, once telling a magazine: 'You cannot expect to be with somebody and in 10 years still be the same couple.'

In August 2013, after 14 years of marriage, the couple announced their separation by mutual agreement. The statement was minimal and dignified — no blame assigned, no details disclosed. The custody arrangement for their daughters and the financial terms were kept entirely private, consistent with French privacy laws and both parties' preference for discretion. Neither party has ever publicly discussed the terms of the settlement.

Post-divorce, both continued their acclaimed careers. Cassel married 30-year-old model Tina Kunakey in 2018, with whom he had another daughter. Bellucci embraced her role as a Bond girl in Spectre (2015) at age 50, becoming the oldest Bond girl in franchise history, and later began a relationship with director Tim Burton. Their divorce remains a model of discretion and mutual respect in an industry known for public melodrama.

Legal Breakdown: How French mutual-agreement divorce protects privacy in high-profile splits

What This Means for Your Divorce