Dominic West has long had an interesting take on marriage and monogamy.
"The Affair" star's past comments have begun to resurface on the heels of his caught-on-camera tryst with Lily James, despite his 10-year marriage to Irish landscape designer Catherine FitzGerald.
"I mean, I think women should be more indulgent of affairs. I really do," he told the Evening Standard in 2016. "It's [silly] to kick someone out over a fling. Isn't it? Everyone should turn a blind eye to men's behavior between the ages of 40 and 50. Let it all blow over."
That's not the only time Dominic, 50, has expressed his views on being with one partner forever. Just last year he spoke to Harper's Bazaar about the notion of monogamy.
"It's one of those subjects that people have very strong opinions about because everybody is open to it and can experience it. It affects kings as much as it does snails," he said. "A lot of people have experienced it and a lot of people fear it. I suppose people suspect that the conventions that we have agreed upon in society, that a man and women can stay together for life or a certain amount of time without cheating, that they're not really staying together based on anything other than how society thinks they should behave."
He added, "It's not the necessarily natural way to be, therefore there will always be adultery and intrigue about it."
On Oct. 12, published photos showed Dominic kissing and caressing Lily, his "The Pursuit of Love" costar, in Rome. A source told The Daily Mail that Dominic and Lily, 31, spent two nights in a romantic suite at the Hotel De La Ville, which offers panoramic views of Rome and is close to the famous Spanish steps. In the photos, he was not wearing his wedding ring.
After the images were published all over the world, a source told The Daily that Catherine, who Dominic shares four children with, was "devastated" because she thought they had a "good marriage."
"Catherine has been trying to speak with Dominic but he's not answering his phone. She's totally shocked because she didn't know anything was going on. They were very much together, so this is completely out of the blue," the source said. "She thought they had a good marriage and now it's probably over. That's how she feels right now but the two of them need to speak but at the moment, she's lost for words."
Amid all this, Dominic flew back home to England. On Oct. 13, he emerged from his house with his wife to show a united front. After he and Catherine kissed for photographers, the actor, still not wearing his wedding band, handed the paparazzi a note signed by the two of them. It read, "Our marriage is strong and we're very much still together."