Natalie Portman Breaks Silence on Benjamin Millepied Divorce

Natalie Portman found love in an unexpected place after her split.

In fact, the Black Swan star shared when she met Rihanna for the first time amid her divorce from Benjamin Millepied, the interaction was exactly what she needed.

“I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a bad b---h,” Natalie told Jimmy Fallon during a July 15 appearance on The Tonight Show. “It was—it was exactly what I needed.”

And after Jimmy played the clip of the “Umbrella” singer and Natalie meeting for the first time—during which Rihanna told Natalie she’s “one of the hottest b---hes in Hollywood forever” and that she doesn’t normally get excited about meeting people but that Natalie was an exception—the May December actress jokingly brushed away a tear.

“It was,” she said, “a formative moment in my life.”

Natalie’s reference to her divorce marks her first public comment on the matter since she and Benjamin—with whom she shares son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 7—finalized their divorce in March after more than a decade of marriage.

The confirmation of their divorce also came over a year after multiple outlets reported that Benjamin—whom Natalie met on the set of Black Swan—had engaged in an affair, though Natalie only ever addressed the rumor by telling Vanity Fair in February, "It's terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it."

But while Natalie had remained otherwise tight-lipped about her divorce prior to her late-night appearance, when it came to ringing in her 43rd birthday in June, the Academy Award winner did provide some insight into the community behind her.

"This year, on my birthday," she began her June 9 Instagram post, which featured a carousel of images from around the world, "I want to celebrate my gratitude for my friends who lift me up again and again."

And part of that friendship magic involves a high level of normalcy.

"I lead a very non-Hollywood life in L.A.," Natalie explained to Vanity Fair. "I have some friends who are in the entertainment industry, but many friends who are not, and we don't do industry things when we hang out. We're not going to Hollywood parties, we're having dinners at home in the backyard."

For a look back at Natalie and Benjamin’s romance, keep reading. 

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied met while filming Black Swan in 2009. Though the leading lady fell for the man in tights, the acclaimed ballet dancer proved he looks just as suave in a suit.

In December 2010, the No Strings Attached star announced the couple's engagement and confirmed they were expecting a child together.

In February 2011, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named the pregnant Black Swan ballerina Best Actress. Millepied escorted the tearful winner to the stage to accept her award—and during her emotional speech, she thanked her fiancé for giving her the "most important" role of her life.

They welcomed baby Aleph into the world on June 14, 2011.

The couple looked the picture of happily ever at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. 

In Jan. 2017, Portman and Millepied attended the SAG Awards at The Shrine Auditorium, exactly one month before the birth of their second child, Amalia.

The look of love. The May December actress gazed at her husband as they posed together at the 2020 Oscars.

Two years later, the pair cozied up at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Millepied supported Portman at the Thor: Love And Thunder premiere in Los Angeles in June 2022.

He was also by her side at the film's July 2022 screening in London.

In one of their more recent red carpet appearances together, Portman and Millepied attended the Carmen premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022.