What Exactly Is Going On With The Affair‘s Dominic West, Lily James & That Handwritten Note?

Lily James was rumored to be dating Chris Evans this summer, but the days of ice cream dates and long walks in the park with America’s boyfriend are long behind us. The Rebecca star now appears to be involved in a complicated new relationship with British actor Dominic West — who is also very married.

James and West are said to be working together on the upcoming BBC/Amazon Prime adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel The Pursuit of Love, and they must have gotten very close on set. Over the weekend, the co-stars were photographed taking in the sights during a trip to Rome, and things between the actors seemed more than a little cozy. Pictures obtained by Daily Mail show the stars kissing and holding each other while dining at a local eatery, and they even took an intimate ride around the city’s famed Piazza di Pietra. 

Given the receipts, it wouldn’t be a stretch to suspect that there was something going on between the stars, but West is insisting that he’s still very much happily married despite the images circulating the internet. Today, the Mona Lisa Smile actor and his wife of 10 years Catherine FitzGerald posed for paparazzi outside of their home in Wiltshire, England. All smiles and kisses, the spouses made sure to pass on an important message to the world via handwritten letter (how English of them). 

“Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together,” the couple wrote in the note. “Thank you.”

It’s not exactly a denial of the affair, but the bizarre note is likely the most clarification that the public will ever get out of either the couple or of James; the 31-year-old actress has kept the details of her love life on the down-low since quietly ending her public relationship with The Crown’s Matt Smith earlier this year. Even if we never fully understand what the hell is going on here, this entanglement is definitely one for the books.