In 2002, Dominic West and Polly Astor’s relationship broke down. He blames The Wire.

Dominic West is coming back in a big way. 

Roughly two years ago, he was involved in cheating rumours with Lily James, his co-star in the miniseries The Pursuit of Love. After a bizarre press conference held at his home with his wife by his side, the drama eventually subsided.

But on November 9, West will return to our screens in one of his most iconic roles to date, playing a 1990s King Charles in season five of The Crown. His re-emergence has come with some resurfaced quotes as well, proving the actor has had a pretty long-suffering relationship with monogamy.

Who has Dominic West dated?

Dominic West is married to Irish landscape designer and gardener Catherine FitzGerald. The pair wed in 2010, and are still together, despite his cheating drama.

However, West dated British media personality Polly Astor for a number of years in the late 1990s, and the two had a daughter together, Martha, in 1999.

Since those days, he has admitted that he "hurt Polly very badly".

"Martha was about three when Polly and I split up, and The Wire was very much a part of it," he told the Daily Mail in 2012. 

"Women are extremely important to me and I wanted to be selfish for a bit longer. I wanted to play the field, I suppose," he said.

"That got a lot of things out of my system. And now I just act it."

Strangely, these aren’t the only comments the actor has made about fidelity while married to FitzGerald.

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In what appeared to be a chaotic interview with the Evening Standard in 2016, West ranted about affairs.

"I mean, I think women should be more indulgent of affairs," he reportedly said while he made the journalist a cup of tea.

"I really do. It’s daft to kick someone out over a fling, isn’t it? Everyone should turn a blind eye to men’s behaviour between the ages of 40 and 50. Let it all blow over."

The journalist, Charlotte Edwardes, went on to say West 'rolls around in controversial statements like a dog in fox poo'.

Despite this, he seemed dedicated to his marriage to FitzGerald. The pair met at Trinity College in Dublin in the 1990s, and dated briefly before separating for quite some years. FitzGerald actually married another man, and after her divorce, she reconnected with West in the early 2000s.

"I fell in love with her when I was 21, and she fell in love with me about eight months ago, when she realised all other options had been exhausted and she had four kids," West joked in the same interview with the Evening Standard.

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What happened with Lily James?

West met Lily James in 2020 when they were filming The Pursuit of Love. Although West was married, The Daily Mail published pictures of the pair spending time together in Rome, where West was seen embracing James, leaning in to kiss her, and touching her hair affectionately all without his wedding ring on. 

When the photos broke, West and FitzGerald faced the press head on. They went out to greet the paparazzi who were milling around outside their house, and Dominic handed them a note that read, "Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you. Catherine and Dominic." They then shared a kiss and went back inside.

West kissed FitzGerald outside their home after news of his alleged affair broke. Image: Getty.

FitzGerald has since told the Irish Independent that their marriage faced "ups and downs" in the aftermath of the alleged affair. Lily James, however, has remained tight-lipped.

"Ach, I’m not really willing to talk about that. There is a lot to say, not now, I’m afraid," she said in an interview with The Guardian. 

Feature Image: Getty.