Keira Knightley has a type and it's "men with incredible bone structure." While the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is currently married (we'll get to that in a minute), we're taking a look through her exes—including a Pride & Prejudice costar— mostly as a reminder to ourselves not to settle. And word of warning: the Jamie Dornan section is wiiiiiild.
Del Synnott: 2001–2003
Keira and Del started dating after meeting on the TV movie Princess of Thieves. This was obviously before Keira had her breakout performance in Bend it Like Beckham, so not much is know about their relationship, but it lasted a couple of years!
Jamie Dornan: 2003–2005
Keira and Jamie dated for a few years in the early aughts after meeting at a Manhattan photoshoot, as one does, but apparently he couldn't handle her increased fame.
As Jamie himself put it in Mail on Sunday (via The Mirror) "There is a big pressure when you go out with someone like Keira. You can feel a bit second-rate and that’s what started to happen. It’s not like I was bringing the bread to the table—and that can start to affect everything. Keira could see what I was going through and it would have been better if I’d kept it hidden from her."
According to Vanity Fair, Jamie also wrote a song about Keira which included the lyrics "I can see your fancy friends trying to steal your innocence . . . you're so weak around them."
Um. Okay!
Rupert Friend: 2005–2010
Keira and Rupert met on the best movie of all time, Pride & Prejudice, and dated for about five years. They stayed silent about their split, but Keira's dad chatted to the Daily Mail, saying "It wasn't a decision that either of them took lightly. I know they gave it a great deal of thought. I don’t think there was any one thing that led to their break-up—it was a whole raft of things, I think. It's very unfortunate, but Keira is coping well and is focusing on a new West End play that she is opening. She is getting on with things. I know that she and Rupert will remain great friends."
James Righton: 2011 to Now
Keira and James started dating in 2011 after meeting through mutual friends. As Keira told The Guardian "[We met] through our mate Tim, not Alexa Chung, as people keep telling me. We were very drunk. He’s the sort of person who will be the brightest light in any room, whereas I’m the one who sits in the corner. And he’s much nicer than me."
They got married in 2013 and James chatted about the wedding to NME (via Cosmopolitan UK), saying, "I just fell in love with someone who happens to be amazing. We had a beautiful wedding and there was a lot of love. It was the greatest day ever, it was fantastic. We’re still high from it. It was about two weeks ago, it was a big party."
The pair went on to welcome two kids, and keep their family life pretty private! Keira told The Times, "We really annoy each other. But, fuck, do we laugh."




