Kristin Scott Thomas says remarriage at 64 made her happiest she’s ever been, and husband helped land Slow Horses role

Kristin Scott Thomas says remarrying at 64 has made her the happiest she’s ever been. The BAFTA-winning actress secretly wed Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait during an intimate ceremony with only close family and friends last September. Now 65, she describes life with her new husband as fantastic.

The couple’s private union comes as Scott Thomas returns to screens in the fifth season of Apple TV+ Slow Horses, where she plays MI5’s Diana Taverner. She said the decision to join the new series was helped by Micklethwait’s circle; his friends, who are fans of Mick Herron’s spy novels, described the author as a genius and urged her to take the role. The actor-star said the collaboration with the show’s creators and co-stars was energizing and that the project fit well with her evolving outlook on life.

Kristin Scott Thomas has long balanced a high-profile career with a roaming life across Europe. She was previously married to French fertility specialist François Olivennes, whom she wed in 1987. The couple based themselves in Paris and raised three children before divorcing after 17 years. Since then, she has spoken candidly about the challenges of maintaining relationships with a career that involves near-constant travel and on-location work. She has cited a pattern of prioritizing work when home life became difficult and said she once believed she would remain single for years.

Her life has also been shaped by family tragedy. When she was five, her father, Lieutenant Commander Simon Thomas, died in a fighter plane accident in 1966. A declassified air investigation report released in 2015 showed the Sea Vixen jet exploded during a training exercise off the Dorset coast. Kristin’s mother, Deborah, later remarried Fleet Air Arm pilot Simon Idiens, who died in a similar accident in 1972. Deborah also had a brief relationship with a partner who died in a flying accident. These events have formed part of the backdrop to Scott Thomas’s resilience and career choices.

Away from private life, Scott Thomas has pursued a return to one of television’s most talked-about spy dramas. Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron’s best-selling books, follows a disparate group of MI5 misfits and is known for its sharp humor and high-stakes intrigue. In its fifth season, she again portrays Diana Taverner, a senior figure in the agency, alongside Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb. The show’s adaptation and the ensemble have drawn praise, and Scott Thomas has noted that the project appealed in part because of conversations around the books and the enthusiasm of Micklethwait and his circle.

Looking ahead, the actor reflects on what she has learned from a long career and another marriage. She has said she now values different things and has found someone who shares her outlook. The experience of remarriage has, she suggests, reshaped her sense of how to balance art and life, and she continues to pursue roles that align with that balance as Slow Horses returns for its latest season.