"Fantastic Four" actor Ioan Gruffudd's parents said his decision to "leave his family" isn't a shock but maintain that another woman isn't involved. Friends of Ioan's wife, "The Mentalist" star Alice Evans, aren't so sure.
"It is very sad and we are all very sorry it has happened, of course," Ioan's mother, Margaret Griffiths, told The Sun. "But the children will come first whatever happens, that's for sure. He's [in the United States] and we're here and because of Covid, there's no chance of seeing him for the time being. He's alright."
Ioan's marriage to Alice made headlines this week after she publicly announced their split by accusing him of "harassment" and claiming he "mentally toured" her.
"Sad news. My believed husband/soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week," she tweeted earlier this week, according to screen grabs. "Me and our young daughters girls are very confused and sad. We haven't been given a reason except that he 'no longer loves me.'"
The tweet has since been deleted. Afterward, though, Alice claimed that she didn't take down the tweet and alleged that Ioan, who many know from his bit role in "Titanic," deleted it.
"I didn't delete the tweet from a few hours ago about him leaving. He did. From my account," she wrote on Jan. 26. "And hell yes when I am being gaslit and mentally tortured then hell yes I will wash my linen in public."
Ioan and Alice share daughters Ella, 11, and Elsie, 7.
The fracture of the 13-year marriage isn't a "complete surprise" to Ioan's father, Peter Griffiths, who told the Daily Mail he was "aware" of issues between the former long-term couple.
"I have spoken to Ioan and we are of course incredibly sad but I do not want to go into too much detail," he said. "We are very sad, particularly for our two granddaughters. It is just very sad, but these things do happen and marriages do end."
A source close to Alice, who recently spent time with the actress in Los Angeles, noted that tension has been building.
"Obviously there is a lot of trouble there and obviously he's keeping a lid on it. She's probably very upset to go so far publicly with it. There is a feeling that there's probably another person involved," the friend said. "Alice is quite a smart cookie, so her going public might be her way of trying to smoke somebody out, if you get my drift, and create a bit of scandal to expose any infidelity."
Another friend told the Mail that he or she was "not at all surprised" the marriage is imploding because Ioan has been flirtatious with other women.
In hindsight, the writing may have been on the wall. In February 2020, Ioan spoke to The Guardian about his marriage, claiming, "I think we've struggled the past four years, making time for each other because physically we're apart.'"