‘Game of Thrones’ Star Natalie Dormer Ends Engagement With Director Anthony Byrne

Natalie Dormer and director Anthony Byrne have called off their engagement, as Dormer revealed in an interview with The New Statesmen.

Dormer gave an interview with the outlet which was published on Wednesday, revealing her feelings on everything from on-screen nudity to her highly publicized relationship with Byrne. The actress confirmed that she and Byrne ended their relationship earlier this year, as has been rumored for some time.

Dormer and Byrne had been together for 11 years. They co-wrote a thriller called In Darkness, which came out earlier this year. Dormer also produced the movie while Byrne directed it. According to the interviewer, she and Byrne have “parted ways since promoting the film this summer.”

Dormer reportedly spoke highly of her ex in the interview, and had little to say about the break-up. She has, however, talked about the difficulty of working on a creative project with a romantic partner in the past. Back in May, she told The Hollywood Reporter that the process was “challenging.”

“We didn’t have an office or anything, we were in our own home writing,” Byrne explained at the time, “and then it would all kick off because we would disagree about something fundamentally or I would be a pain in the arse and I would challenge Nat, or myself.”

In another interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2016, Dormer said: “I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a writing room but I wouldn’t recommend it with your other half.”

Dormer did not seem too interested in discussing the break-up with New Statesmen this week, though she did have a lot to say about navigating fame and trying to manage her own public image. The actress stays off social media entirely, but admitted that sometimes she feels like gettng online just to correct journalists or call out headlines.

“I have been misquoted and taken out of context quite regularly on the subject of sex on screen. I don’t have any immediate redress to counter it,” she said. “How absurd to go, ‘Should I just tweet to say that journalist took my words completely out of context?’ It creates another story.”

Dormer is best known for playing Queen Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, where she had to seduce the much younger King Tommen. At the time, she was infuriated by an article published by GossipCop.com, which she says took her words out of context. She later released a seemingly obvious statement saying that she does not “condone, in any shape or form, sex with a minor. That is child abuse. A serious criminal act.”

Dormer expanded her horizons in the world of literary fantasy this year when she narrated a new audiobook titled Harry Potter: A History of Magic. The book is available now.