Rufus Sewell’s fiancée Vivian Benitez poked fun at their age gap, one day after announcing their engagement.
The actress celebrated her 27th birthday during a romantic trip in Rome, Italy with partner Rufus, 56.
She donned a blue jumper and beige trousers while holding a glass of wine in a mirror selfie.
Alongside the snap, Vivian wrote on Instagram: ‘Please pass on to anyone worried about our age difference, that it’s ok now- I turned 27 this morning’
Rufus and Vivian appeared happier than ever when they announced their engagement on Tuesday.
Rufus Sewell’s fiancé Vivian Benitez poked fun at their age gap as she celebrated her 27th birthday, one day after announcing their engagement
Alongside the snap, Vivian wrote on Instagram: ‘Please pass on to anyone worried about our age difference, that it’s ok now- I turned 27 this morning’
The actor, who played love rat Jasper in festive movie The Holiday, popped the question to the American actress, who is 30 years his junior. This will be the third time Rufus has tied the knot.
Vivian – who has starred in Arsenal, Criminal Minds and Sky Dancers Grown Up – shared an image of the pair of them cuddling up on social media, as well as the beautiful diamond ring Rufus gave her.
She wrote in the caption: ‘Til death, (or him continuing to walk on bathmats with his outside shoes) do us part.’
It appears Rufus popped the question during a romantic getaway in Rome as Vivian shared a snap of herself in the city a day prior to their exciting announcement.
A host of Vivian’s pals took to the comment section of the engagement post to share their congratulations.
A family member wrote: ‘You are soooo good together. this makes my heart sing, We have a wedding to plan!’
Others typed: ‘Oh my goodness!! The best couple. Congratulations you two, so much love to you both!’ and ‘I am so excited!!!!! YAY!!’.
Rufus and Vivian appeared happier than ever when they announced their engagement on Tuesday
She shared an image of the beautiful diamond ring Rufus gave her
Rufus famously played Kate Winslet’s onscreen love interest in The Holiday – but his character turned out to be something of a love rat
The couple keep their relationship relatively private but have made some red carpet appearances over the years together.
In 2021 they put on a loved-up display at the premiere of Old in New York and Rufus sometimes features in Vivian’s Instagram posts.
Rufus’ first wife was his long-term girlfriend, Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah, 47.
Yasmin met Rufus in Australia aged 19, and the couple married when Yasmin was 23 in 1999. They divorced in 2000.
Yasmin previously spoke about their short-lived marriage in an interview with Elle .
She met Rufus in a bar in Australia and after several months of dating, they relocated to the UK and mixed with the Primrose Hill set.
‘I don’t know if I was accepted to be honest… some weird, shaved-head Aussie-Lebanese girl who wasn’t quite part of the mix,’ she said.
‘I ended up making some wrong decisions, wrong business decisions, and I ended up losing the store, which was devastating for me. Rufus and I were no longer together, and that was quite traumatic. I was broke. It was a time of big loss. But it was also a time of great healing, when I went on – dare I say it – a spiritual journey.’
The actor married his second wife, scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, in 2004. They sadly divorced in 2006.
They are parents to a son, William Douglas. Amy went on to marry film producer Will Ricker.
Rufus attended the premiere of Old in New York with his love in 2021
It appears Rufus popped the question during a romantic getaway in Rome as Vivian shared a snap of herself in the city a day prior to their exciting announcement
Vivian also shared their romantic beach snap on her Instagram page back in 2021
Rufus previously said both Amy and his son William would visit him on set. He told The Telegraph: ‘They would come and have lunch with me every day, and I would go home to them at night. I guess it was a bit like having a regular job in that it felt very stable.’
Rufus also has a daughter called Lola, 10, from his relationship with Ami Komai.
Rufus previously said of his love life in an interview with the Mail: ‘It’s always been important to be in a relationship when I’m in one, but I don’t actively look for one.
‘I’ve gone through long times without being with someone, but that’s not happened for a while.’
And it’s a busy time for the actor, who is set to star as Prince Andrew in a new adaptation of Newsnight’s bombshell interview with the Duke.
But the heartthrob will reportedly wear facial prosthetics to make him look ‘less handsome’ for his role in the show, which will depict the story behind Newsnight’s interview with Andrew.
In the adaptation, which will be titled Scoop, Gillian Anderson will portray Emily Maitlis, who grilled Andrew in the 2019 interview over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The film will be based on the book Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, former BBC producer Sam’s account of how she gained access to Andrew for the infamous interview, which aired in November 2019.
His first wife was his long-term girlfriend, Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah. They were married in 1999 and divorced in 2000 (pictured in 1997)
Rufus married second wife, scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, in 2004 and they sadly divorced in 2006 (pictured with Amy in 2001)
The role couldn’t be further from the brooding Lord Melbourne in ITV’s smash hit series Victoria.
The actor said on This Morning he had no idea how popular his portrayal of the British PM would be in the series which starred Jenna Coleman as Melbourne’s monarch.
‘I was in America when it came out, I talked to Jenna to see what was going on, it took me by surprise,’ he explained.
‘At my age it’s quite nice to be objectified! Having complained about it for years I was like “thank you very much!”‘
