Actress Emilia Fox has opened up about being single in her fifties, revealing that she has used dating apps in the past.
The Silent Witness star, who returns to our screens in October in Italian detective drama Signora Volpe, spoke candidly about this liberating stage of her life at her exclusive interview and photoshoot with HELLO!.
"I have done dating apps before, but I haven't done them in the past few years," Emilia tells us. "I've been preoccupied with all the other things in life, so maybe I've neglected that side of life a bit, but that hasn't been at the cost of my happiness."
© @olikearonEmilia, who shares her 15-year-old daughter Rose, 15, with her former partner, the actor Jeremy Gilley, split from her partner of four years, the TV producer Jonathan Stadlen, in 2025.
She says of her current single status: "I think I wanted to process the last relationship I was in, which was a meaningful relationship. I feel that I've been able to do that in a good way and not move into something else.
“Who knows – there's something exciting about the unknown, and I think dating apps are amazing. I’m a great believer in human contact and finding out who someone is; I do think that's important, to find out who someone actually is before you launch into a relationship.
"I feel as though I'm enjoying what I have in my life now, not wanting something I don't have, but if something came along that felt right… also, you approach relationships differently, I think, at different ages."
© Getty ImagesBack in April, Emilia exclusively opened up to us about her split from Jeremy Gilley, telling us: "I'm a great believer that changes come in life for a reason, even if it’s hard to see why at the time.
"Inevitably, there is great sadness when a relationship finishes, but a year on from separating, I’m feeling positive about where I am in life and what’s to come."
She added: "I’m single and I love the feeling of looking forward to new beginnings from the starting point of having learnt a few things from experience,” she says. “We had some immensely happy times together, so I will always have good things to say about Jonathan."
Emilia said that family and friends helped her through the end of her relationship: "I have wonderful friends, I go to therapy, I’ve spent lots of time with family in Dorset walking and being by the sea," she said.
© Getty Images for BAFTAEmilia hails from the Fox acting dynasty. Her father, Edward Fox, 89, starred in the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal, and her mother, Joanna David, 79, was in the 1971 TV adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Her brother is the Slow Horses star Freddie Fox, 37, her cousins include the Riviera actor Jack Fox, 41, and her uncle is James Fox, 87, who starred in The Remains of the Day.
The actress now stars in season three of Signora Volpe, which sees her character Sylvia (now recovered from her abduction at the end of season two) settling into her new life in Italy with her partner, the Carabinieri captain Giovanni Riva. Her character's former husband, Adam, played by Jamie Bamber, also returns in this series.
Episode one of Signora Volpe season three is available to stream on Acorn TV, with new episodes airing Mondays.
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