Dawn French and Lenny Henry’s Heartfelt Revelation Regarding Their Marriage Separation

 

For a quarter of a century, Dawn French and Lenny Henry formed one of the most renowned couples in comedy. Fans were both surprised and saddened when, in 2020, they announced their “entirely amicable” divorce, expressing their intention to “maintain their close friendship”.

Dawn and Lenny’s paths first crossed in 1980, during their time as members of the alternative comedy show Comic Strip. For Lenny, who is now 65, it was a “meeting of minds”. Describing his initial connection with Dawn in his 2022 memoir ‘Rising to the Surface’, Lenny penned: “A massive light bulb went off over my head. I was compelled by [Dawn]. We talked about everything… performance, politics (my family voted Labour, but I hadn’t really connected with the whys of it until I met Dawn), family, relationships, food, the future.”

In 1984, the then-happy couple exchanged vows in what Lenny later fondly referred to as a “fancy-schmancy chi-chi hall” in London’s Covent Garden, celebrating their love with great fervour.

Recalling their extravagant ceremony, Lenny said, “In my opinion, if we weren’t going to tie the knot in the traditional way – grand church, reception, formal attire, lavish feast, surrounded by friends and family in an opulent venue with a lively band and Big Al the DJ wrapping up the day with a lively disco – then we might as well not do it at all.”

In 1991, Lenny and Dawn, now 66, welcomed their daughter Billie, whom they adopted at just two weeks old. Speaking about her experience of becoming a mother through adoption in a 2015 interview with The Telegraph, Dawn mentioned, “I experienced a period of grief. I also had miscarriages, so there was grief surrounding that as well. But the moment Billie arrived, that was it for me. She fulfills every aspect of what I needed to be as a mother.”

For many years, Lenny and Dawn seemed incredibly well-suited, supporting each other in their glittering careers and raising their daughter together. However, in 2010, Dawn and Lenny surprised fans when they divorced, citing his “unreasonable behaviour” as the grounds. A statement issued on behalf of the couple stated, “The separation is entirely amicable, and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship. Their top priority is to continue their joint parenting of their daughter in the future.”

Reports circulated at the time suggesting that Lenny was unfaithful to Dawn in 1999; however, he vehemently denied these claims. It wasn’t until six years post their divorce, in 2016, that Lenny offered some insight into the reasons behind their separation. In an emotionally candid interview with the Daily Express, he disclosed, “There’s typically a point where one partner feels the need to end the marriage more strongly than the other.

“I suppose maybe it started with one of us, then the other, and back and forth over time, until eventually, we both thought, ‘Oh, maybe we both feel this way’. We understood that it just wasn’t sustainable.”

Fortunately, the couple seem to have maintained a strong friendship even after parting ways, and have each found new love. In 2013, Dawn exchanged vows with Mark Bignell, a therapist who co-founded the drug and alcohol addiction charity Hamoaze House, a venture initiated alongside Dawn’s late mother, Felicity ‘Roma’ French. The couple now reside in a picturesque waterside residence in Cornwall, not far from their daughter Billie. Lenny is reported to have been in a relationship with theatre director Lisa Makin since 2012.