David Morrissey has become a grandad for the first time with his ex-wife Esther Freud revealing the baby has brought them closer after their painful divorce.
The Sherwood actor, 61, was married to author Esther, the great-granddaughter of psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud and daughter of the late artist Lucian Freud, for 13 years before their shock separation in 2019.
Now, Esther has revealed she and David have become grandparents – adding the baby has helped bring them closer together six years after the painful collapse of their relationship.
Esther said the arrival of their first grandchild – born to their eldest son Albie Morrissey, 30, a TV producer – has created ‘more opportunities to be a family’ once again.
‘We have Christmas together, we celebrate three children’s birthdays. Now we have a grandchild,’ she told the Second Act with Ateh Jewel podcast. ‘So there’s even more opportunities to be a family.’
The couple met while studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama in the 1980s, and went on to have three children: Albie, artist Anna, 27, and musician Gene, 18.
David Morrissey has become a grandad for the first time with his ex-wife Esther Freud revealing the baby has brought them closer after their painful divorce (Pictured in 2013)
Esther said the arrival of their first grandchild – born to their eldest son Albie Morrissey, 30, a TV producer – has created ‘more opportunities to be a family’ once again
Their split was announced six years ago, with friends describing it as ‘amicable’. But Esther has since been candid about the painful unravelling of their marriage and the personal transformation that followed.
Speaking on the podcast episode released on Monday, she reflected on the ‘slow dawning’ that she could no longer ignore her own unhappiness.
‘I just had to let my body, which was screaming out with unhappiness, tell me that I needed to change my life,’ she said. ‘That meant, for me, sadly, leaving my marriage – or accepting that it was over after 26, 27 years.’
She added that both she and David ‘tried with everything we had to make it work,’ but eventually realised that ‘neither of us were happy anymore’.
‘I remember one day thinking, ‘I don’t even know what food you like anymore,’ she said. ‘I’d lost my link with this person who I had grown up with. It happened slowly and gradually.’
Earlier this year, Esther revealed how the menopause played a key role in ending the relationship, describing how she became unable to manage feelings she’d previously been able to control.
‘It’s not that things were so much worse than they had been at different times, but somehow, suddenly, it was impossible for me to bear,’ she said then. ‘I tried absolutely everything to keep my marriage together.’
On the podcast, Esther said she and David are on good terms – and that maintaining a sense of family unity has helped both of them move forward.
The Sherwood actor, 61, was married to author Esther for 13 years before their shock separation in 2019 (Pictured in 2006)
‘We have Christmas together, we celebrate three children’s birthdays. Now we have a grandchild,’ she told the Second Act with Ateh Jewel podcast
‘Yes, we’re lucky,’ she said when asked if they are friends. ‘Whenever I felt any animosity and allowed my brain to go over the grievances, I just thought, what would be best for the children? Ah, we could be friends. And I would say that’s all it takes for me.’
She added: ‘I actually imagined that we would be more friendly because we’ve always been great friends – that we’d meet up, we’d talk about things and chat.
‘But actually, we just tend to stick to those family gatherings and save up the chat about what film we saw or what book we read for Christmas. It’s fine, I can talk to other people about those things.’
While the former couple don’t have regular contact outside family gatherings, they still share custody of the family dog, Billy – and occasionally coordinate around that, too.
‘I love to have people around,’ Esther added. ‘Right now there are no children in the house, but I feel any minute that could change. My ex does still share the dog, so if I can get him and book him up in advance, he’ll take the dog. It’s not always that easy, but I just think it’ll be fine.’
Since the split, David – whose credits include The Walking Dead and The Long Shadow – has been in a relationship with theatrical agent Larah Simpson, 32, who is just four years older than his eldest son.
Esther has since found happiness with Gerry Simpson, 62 – no relation to Larah – a professor of law at the London School of Economics, whom she met soon after her marriage ended.
‘I was so lucky,’ she said. ‘I actually met him really soon after the end of my marriage. I was considering [Tinder], and I’m sure I would have done it because I knew I was going to have another relationship. I was in my early 50s, but I didn’t think I’m done.
‘So I was having these thoughts and a friend said, “Would you like to meet a friend of mine? He’s newly single”. She sent me a text, and everything she said about him, I thought, he sounds nice. I said, don’t introduce us and watch us meet – that would be so embarrassing. Could you just introduce us on email and I’ll let it unfold? So we met on a blind date. I walked in and thought, yes – that was it!’
She added: ‘We’re exactly the same age. Our children were born at the same time. We just talked and laughed and I thought, this is just the kind of person I’d like to be with. And luckily, he thought [the same].’
Reflecting on her 60s, Esther said she now feels an unprecedented sense of peace and freedom. ‘I don’t really need or want things in the way I used to,’ she explained. ‘I’ll only choose to do things or be with people if it actually enhances my life. I’m not ruled by fear anymore.’
She added that she now values calm over intensity: ‘In some ways I care less, and sometimes that’s strange and slightly flat – I like the intensity of caring – but mostly it’s fabulous.’
After years of focusing on motherhood and marriage, Esther said she is now enjoying the ability to travel, work and live in the way she wants to.
‘A few months before I turned 60… my youngest son had turned 18, and he was having a gap year and he didn’t want to go travelling,’ she said. ‘So we [me and Gerry] went travelling.
‘We went away for four months, and we lived in Australia, and then we went to Singapore, we went to Laos, and we travelled around.
‘I came back just a week or so before my 60th birthday and had a wonderful party and I really felt: yeah, this feels good! I was so happy to be home as well. So it was a good moment.’
