NIGHY AND QUICK ARE ‘BEST FRIENDS’

BILL NIGHY is still best friends with former partner DIANA QUICK, even though they split up last year (08) after 27 years together.

The Love Actually star and the British actress met in 1981 on the set of a theatre production and have a 25-year-old daughter, Mary.
Nighy confirmed the break-up when it was revealed Quick had moved out of their shared London property last August (08).

But they have maintained a good friendship since the split – because they spent so long together, it’s impossible not to remain a part of each other’s lives.

Quick says, “I’d been married before I met him and had other important relationships, but until Bill I had never thought that I wanted to have a child. When Mary arrived I felt a mixture of emotions, including panic and overwhelming love. I felt a great sense of responsibility, not just towards my child but also towards her father.

“We don’t live together any more, but we’re still great friends. We both feel that you can’t spend so many years with someone and then just walk away without a backward glance. We know each other far too well for that.

“Our parting is a reflection of the fact that life changes you and you have to accommodate those changes and allow people to be what they are. That is what being a mature person is all about.”