Oscar winner Charlize Theron's nine-year romance with Irish actor Stuart Townsend, considered one of the most stable unions in show business, has come to an end. The actress has stopped wearing the antique 'commitment ring' that her partner gave her as a symbol of their relationship.
Theron, 34, told close friends that she decided to split from the Irish actor following a Christmas trip to Mexico and has since stopped wearing the ring.
"Stuart is gutted but Charlize said that she realised during the Mexican holiday that the relationship was over. They had become more like brother and sister than lovers. It was she who ended it," dailymail quote Theron's close friend as saying.
While Theron can command more than $12.7 million a movie, 27-year-old Townsend's career has been less successful.
Even amid his relationship break-up he left the cast of Kenneth Branagh's blockbuster Thor because of so-called 'creative differences'. It was his second big-budget movie setback, after being dumped.
"Charlize has remained in their main home in the Hollywood Hills, which is in her name, and he's moved all his stuff into their Malibu beach home that they own together," the source said.
"They are sorting out their finances at the moment, as they have been together for so long that many of their financial affairs are intertwined.
"Charlize has never made a big deal of it, but the truth of the matter is that she has been the major breadwinner. She truly loved Stuart but the relationship ran its course. He is heartbroken but she is insisting it is all over."
