Earlier this week, Dominic Cooper dined out with Lily James at a much-loved family restaurant in Primrose Hill named Lemonia. Tongues promptly started wagging. Lily, of course, recently hit headlines after being spotted dining in Rome with Dominic West, with rumours of an affair. But the pair are absolutely not together: they have been friends for years, and were recently seen hanging out with friends including Dominic's girlfriend, Gemma Chan. So we can all calm down.
This social occasion was very much a platonic dinner between chums, but some pointed out that it seemed to break the rules of hanging out in a pandemic, which ban indoor dining between two people who do not share a home or a social bubble. Representatives state that they were having a business meeting to discuss a forthcoming charity project, which was allowed up until the newer, stricter lockdown guidelines came into effect.
Anyway, the sighting and the resulting hysteria made us think how often we see Dominic - who rose to fame in The History Boys and has appeared in films like The Duchess and Starter For 10 - on the arm of beautiful, accomplished, award-nominated women, and we couldn't help but look back at his relationship history.
Mamma Mia! Here we go again. Here's a journey through the women he has romanced or, in the case of Meghan Markle, just missed...
Dominic Cooper's Relationship History
1 of 5Joanna Carolan
Joanna, an actress, started dating Dominic way back in 1996, and they were together for more than a decade. They split, however, in 2008, after he was linked romantically with Amanda Seyfried on the set of their film Mamma Mia. Joanna spoke to us in 2009, following the break-up. 'I've cried a lot of tears', she said. 'We still love each other, but we're not together. I also care about Amanda: she's young and vulnerable and has been upset by what's been said.' Very classy, we think.
2 of 5Amanda Seyfried
Dominic and Amanda - best known for roles in Mean Girls, enjoyed an on-off romance between 2008 and 2010. It was an amicable split, and Dominic was happy to work with her again for Mamma Mia 2. 'She's a friend', he told Attitude. 'It was always going to be OK. You just have to be delicate with those situations. She's married now and has a beautiful child. We knew we were going to be working together [again] on a set, going back to a part which was certainly going to remind us of 10 years earlier, but I know her family, I know her mum, who was there a lot.'
3 of 5Ruth Negga
After splitting with Amanda, Dominic soon ended up with Ruth Negga, the Oscar-nominated actress known for roles in films like Loving, Misfits and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They worked together in TV series Preacher, and played husband and wife in Warcraft, the big budget, critically panned adaptation of the game. They split in 2018.
4 of 5Meghan Markle
Oh what could have been: in 2016, Dominic was spotted from afar by Meghan Markle, the woman who would become the Duchess of Sussex, during a day at Wimbledon. 'Meghan did tear herself away from the action long enough to spot British actor Dominic Cooper in the VIP bar area,' says book Finding Freedom. 'Where she joked about having a small crush on the Preacher star and deliberated whether she should talk to him. She decided not to approach this nice English gentleman. She was too busy having fun with her girlfriends.' We know this doesn't quite count as a landmark in his romantic history, but we couldn't leave out royalty.
5 of 5Gemma Chan
In December, he was spotted out and about with Gemma Chan, star of Humans and, by all accounts, a general good egg. They have been sighted regularly ever since - although seem to avoid public events - and will be celebrating their two year anniversary shortly. Congratulations!
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