By puckering up in front of the paparazzi, the director of “Edward Scissorhands” and model Monica Bellucci verified the rumors that they are dating that had been around for a long time.
Outlets managed to get their hands on several photos that show Burton and Bellucci pausing their Valentine’s Day stroll in Santa Monica, California, to kiss. The pair also strolled arm-in-arm before he placed his arm around her as they entered a restaurant. Lastly, the restaurant was a romantic setting for the couple.
Both Burton, 64, and Bellucci, 58, wore complementing black costumes that were virtually identical to one another.
The two people are said to have started dating after attending the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France, in October 2022, despite the fact that they had known each other for more than 15 years and have been friends for the whole of that time.
Bellucci was invited to the festival as an honored guest, and during her stay there, she bestowed the Lumière Lifetime Achievement Award to the director of “Wednesday.”
Last week, a story from the French publication Paris Match said that Burton and the Italian actress first met in 2006 on the steps of the Cannes Film Festival, but that they “grew closer” behind the scenes of Lumière.
Burton was most recently related to his longtime girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he had been involved for 13 years before to their breakup in 2014. The exes have a son named Billy, who is 19 years old, and a daughter named Nell, who is 15 years old.
As for Bellucci, she ended her relationship with the artist Nicolas Lefebre in 2019. Before entering into that partnership, she had a long-term marriage to Vincent Cassel, which lasted from 1999 to 2013.
She and the star of “Ocean’s Twelve” are the parents of two daughters: Deva, who is 18 years old, and Léonie, who is 12 years old.