Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Michelle Williams secretly marries musician Phil Elverum

The actress said she "never gave up on love" after the death of her ex, Heath Ledger


Michelle Williams© Photo: Getty Images
Chloe Best
Lifestyle Features Editor
July 26, 2018
Share this:

Surprise! Michelle Williams has revealed she has secretly tied the knot with singer-songwriter Phil Elverum. The Greatest Showman actress, who has a daughter named Matilda with the late actor Heath Ledger, shared the happy news in an interview with Vanity Fair.

The couple married earlier this month in a secret ceremony in the Adirondacks, a mountain resort near New York, witnessed only by a handful of friends and their two daughters. "I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, 'Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes,'" Michelle told the magazine, describing the relationship she has with her husband as "very sacred and very special".

Michelle Williams Tiffany© Photo: Getty Images

Michelle Williams has secretly tied the knot

The pair were introduced by a mutual friend, and have recently moved in together. In July, Phil and his daughter moved from their home in Anacortes, Washington, to live with Michelle and her daughter Matilda in Brooklyn.

GALLERY: Celebrities who tied the knot in secret

Both Michelle and her new husband have each lost a partner in tragic circumstances while partnering a young child; former Dawson's Creek star Michelle's ex Heath Ledger died of an overdose in 2008 when their daughter was two, while Phil lost his wife Geneviève Castrée to pancreatic cancer in July 2016, when their daughter was only 18-months old.

Michelle williams Vanity Fair

Read the full interview in Vanity Fair magazine (Photo: Collier Schorr exclusively for Vanity Fair)

Speaking about why she decided to open up about their relationship, Michelle said: “Obviously I’ve never once in my life talked about a relationship, but Phil isn’t anyone else. And that’s worth something. Ultimately the way he loves me is the way I want to live my life on the whole. I work to be free inside of the moment." The 37-year-old said she also wanted to give hope or help anyone who has suffered like she has following the loss of a partner.

In the end, she said, what she has learned is simple: "Don't settle. Don't settle for something that feels like a prison, or is hard, or hurts you. If it doesn't feel like love, it's not love."

Sign up to HELLO Daily! for the best royal, celebrity and lifestyle coverage

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Weddings

See more