Kate Winslet on her teenage love: 'the other half of my soul' whose death shaped her life

Kate Winslet has spoken publicly about the lasting impact of her first romance, a teenage relationship with Stephen Tredre-Dickman, a 27-year-old writer and actor who helped shape her early years. The Oscar-winning actress, now 50, has described him as the “other half of my soul” and has said she still loves him. She has emphasized that the bond endured long after the relationship ended and that his death remained a defining moment at the outset of her rise to global stardom.

The pairing began on the set of the BBC sci-fi series Dark Season in 1991, when Winslet was 15 and Tredre-Dickman was 27. The two dated for about five years, with Winslet moving into a north London flat with him as her career began to take off in projects like Heavenly Creatures and Sense and Sensibility. They lived together through much of her late teens, but their romance waned when she was about 19 after Stephen was diagnosed with cancer. He ultimately decided to end the relationship during his illness, an act Winslet has described as an act of care and love. "Stephen let me go, and that as an act of love from one human being to another was overwhelming," she has said in recollections of their time together. Despite the breakup, Winslet said they remained in close contact as his health deteriorated, and she has since described their bond as a profound, lifelong connection.

Stephen Tredre-Dickman died in December 1997 at age 34, the same week Titanic hit theaters. Winslet has recalled attending his funeral instead of the U.S. premiere of Titanic, a decision she was advised against by some in the industry. She has said, however, that she would not have wanted to be anywhere else and that she sang at his memorial because he had always loved her singing. The years that followed were marked by grief and a continued sense that the man she called “the most important person in my life, next to my family” would always remain with her. "I wish he hadn’t died. I wish I had been there at the end, but I know Stephen let me go, and that was an act of love," she told The Telegraph years later, reflecting on the difficult period when Titanic suddenly thrust her into global fame.

Winslet has been candid that her teenage relationship shaped how she viewed love and age gaps. She has repeatedly noted that she was 15 when the romance began and that Stephen, 12 years her senior, gave her strength during a tumultuous time when she faced bullying and insecurity in school. She has recalled how his encouragement helped her “stick to her guns and believe in herself,” and she has spoken about the ongoing sense of loss that has accompanied her career choices and personal life. In earlier interviews, she described supportive memories of Stephen: he would wake each day with an optimistic outlook, and she said her life revolved around him during those years.

The death of Stephen during the mid-1990s would become a touchstone as Winslet navigated early motherhood and a burgeoning film career. She has said that she kept him close in her thoughts as she balanced acting roles with the pressures of rising fame. The tragedy is cited as a factor in why she later chose to marry Jim Threapleton, with whom she welcomed daughter Mia in 2000 before their 2003 divorce. The weight of her grief also shadowed her later marriage to director Sam Mendes, which ended in 2010, and coincided with Winslet’s continued balancing of her work, family, and public life.

As Winslet moved forward, she formed a new partnership with Edward Abel Smith, known professionally as Ned Rocknroll. The couple met in 2011 on Necker Island after a storm damaged the property, and they wed the following year. They welcomed a son, Bear Blaze, in 2013. Winslet has discussed how she views grief and healing, noting that personal loss remains a recurring emotional influence as she continues to explore intimate themes in her work, including directing. Her directorial debut, Goodbye June, centers on family loss and the fragility of life, and she spoke about the experience of making the film while grappling with her mother’s death in 2017. In conversations about the film and grief, she has described how British culture handles loss, saying that there is room for more open discussion and understanding.

Winslet has also engaged with how age and relationships are discussed in Hollywood. In a 2008 interview around her role in The Reader, she was asked about sympathy for a character who engages in an age-inappropriate relationship. She acknowledged the complexity of such topics and indicated that she did not want to conflate real-life relationships with fiction. The topic resurfaced in subsequent conversations about her later on-screen choices and real-life partnerships, but Winslet has consistently emphasized that personal relationships, especially those formed during adolescence, can be nuanced and that she chose to process her experiences privately while continuing to honor the memory of Stephen.

Today, Winslet remains a leading figure in culture and entertainment, balancing a prolific acting career with directorial work and a commitment to family. She has spoken about grief as a personal ledger that continues to shape how she approaches roles, storytelling, and public life. Her retrospective view of the Stephen Tredre-Dickman years highlights the enduring question of how early love and loss can influence a public figure’s path, long after the headlines fade. The story of Winslet and Stephen—his life cut short as their shared journey began—serves as a reminder of the complex ties between personal history and the arc of a public life.