Judi Dench is now 88 years old. When she lost her first husband, she thought she’d never find love again. But after being a widow for nine years, she did. She started dating a man named David, but they have no plans to get married.
Judi Dench turned 88 recently. The talented actress has had a full life. She has worked on stage and screen, and she has fallen in love twice.
Michael Williams, an actor, was her first husband. He was born in Liverpool and went to school at RADA before going into show business. At the age of 25, he got his first part in a movie. After that, he started moving between TV and movies.
Williams was a successful actor who was in movies like “Elizabeth R,” “Educating Rita,” “Henry V,” and many more. Williams met Judi in 1971, and he fell deeply in love with her. When they met for the first time, they were both in a play called “The Duchess of Malfi” by John Webster.
Williams asked Dench to marry him the same year they met, but she said no. In a past interview, she talked about being turned down and said it was the wrong time and place. She said:
“Mike got on a plane and flew out to see us all. It really saved the day. Then he asked, “Will you get married to me?” I said, “Ask me again when it’s raining in Battersea.” Then it would really feel true. So, that’s what went on.”
Later that year, they got married, and they were together for about 30 years, until the actor died three weeks before their 30th wedding anniversary. Dench said that their long marriage was due to “luck.”
She says that she and Williams never had to try to make what they had work. Dench said that Williams sometimes had “black dog days,” but she said that he was the “most selfless man” she had ever met. Dench said that he always made her laugh and that they always had a great time together. She said:
“There was never a problem. I was lucky to meet Mike.”
Williams died because he had lung cancer. He died on January 11, 2001, which was one day after Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of St. Gregory as a reward for his work in the Catholic ministry.
Mills had to help her cut up her food at dinner because she couldn’t see what was on her plate.
He married Dench, and they had one daughter, Tara Cressida Frances Williams, who they called “Finty.” They had her in London, and when she was a child, she liked to act just like her mother. She went to the Central School of Speech and Drama to learn how to act and now she is well-known.
When she lost her husband, Michael Williams, Judi Dench was at the top of her game as an actress. She was in New York at the time, and she had heard that he was doing well.
The next day, Dench tried to go back to New York, but she couldn’t because the planes kept having trouble taking off. She tried another plane, but the same thing happened, so it took her a long time to get back.
Dench said she might never get over Williams when she talked about how it felt to lose him in the past. She says that losing a loved one changes a person’s identity and leaves a huge gap in front of them, making it seem like an abyss awaits those who move on.
Years after Williams’ death, Dench said that it hasn’t gotten easier for her to live without him. She said this about the experience:
“Things happen that you don’t expect. You’ll walk into a room one day and see a picture or something. I don’t think you’ll get used to it ever.”
After losing her first husband to lung cancer, Dench thought she was done with love. She was alone for about nine years after her husband died, and she thought she would always be alone. Then, in 2010, she met David Mills, a conservationist.
Even though it wasn’t how things started out between them, Mills was able to change her mind. They met when he asked her to open a new badger enclosure at Surrey Zoo. Since then, they haven’t been able to stay away from each other.
Mills knows how to make Dench laugh, just like Williams does. They have been friends for over a decade, even though they don’t live together. Reports say that their homes are at least four miles apart, but they don’t mind.
Many people have wondered if they will get married to make their love official, since their relationship is going so well. However, it doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon, if ever.
During the lockdown, they thought about it, but decided they would rather have their own space. They don’t seem to want to live together under one roof. Instead, they seem happy to go back and forth between their two homes.
When asked if she would marry Mills, Dench looked shocked and said “no” a lot. She said that they were getting their act together and behaving like adults.
Even though Dench has strong feelings about marriage, she and Mills act like they are married. They travel together and do most things together. Mills said that it put him in the spotlight, but he doesn’t mind, especially since he got to be with Dench.
Now that her health is getting worse, he takes care of her. She once said that Mills had to help her cut up her food at dinner because she couldn’t see what was on her plate.
Dench is determined to keep doing what she loves, even though her health is getting worse. She has said she has no plans to stop acting, and her grandson Sam Williams taught her how to dance on Tiktok, which has made her more active.
There are now a lot of dance videos of Dench on the app Tiktok. This shows that she isn’t ready to retire just yet.