It’s time for a Hollywood history lesson! In early 2006, Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe split up after ten years of marriage. There was some back and forth for a few months when it looked like they might get back together, but then Hilary started being seen around LA with a “mystery man”. The man turned out to be John Campisi, her agent. Her agent who was married with a small child. Around the same time (mid-2006), Hilary gave a somewhat infamous Vanity Fair interview in which she publicly called out Chad Lowe for his addiction issues. Some people thought Hilary was being plainspoken and direct. Some thought she was being off-side and bitchy by airing such personal details about her estranged husband.
Anyway, Chad and Hilary’s divorce eventually came through, and quietly, along that same time period, John Campisi divorced his wife. Hilary and John always claimed that John and his wife were separated when he and Hilary got together, and Hilary has always claimed that they were simply friends for a long time (friends that went on a lot of date-like activities for a year) before becoming romantic. And that’s the way it’s been ever since 2006 – Hilary and John lived together, they openly discussed the possibility of marriage and children (well, she discussed it in interviews)… and now Hilary and John are over.
It wasn’t quite a summer of love for Hilary Swank. A rep for the actress exclusively confirms to PEOPLE that she and boyfriend John Campisi have ended their five-year relationship. The pair split earlier this summer.
The Oscar winner, who has spent the majority of the summer filming Mary & Martha with Brenda Blethyn in South Africa and Wilmington, N.C., and Campisi began dating in 2007.
In 2010, Swank spoke to InStyle about the possibility of getting married again, after her split with ex-husband Chad Lowe.
“Friends of mine and I talk about this. Does someone come into your life for a certain time, and then you are supposed to go your separate ways?” she asked at the time. “There’s a part of me that thinks that’s true.”
My radar is up for possible scandals involving this breakup, and I’m sure some of you will be reviewing old blind items to see what fits. It could be a case of two mature adults simply growing apart and ending their relationship on their terms. Or it could be something juicier. I don’t know at this point. I will say this – I don’t think Swank’s reputation has recovered from last year’s scandal in which Hilary was one of several celebrities paid to make a personal appearance at a Chechen despot’s birthday party. Hilary faced a barrage of criticism, she was forced to offer a somewhat weak apology (but did she give the money back?), and she has been keeping a significantly lower profile ever since. I’m actually thinking that the huge hit Hilary took from that might have affected her relationship with Campisi.
This is just an aside for those of you who followed this Swank-Campisi story for years – do you think Swank regrets all of her public discussion about John Campisi’s young son? She talked about her relationship with Campisi’s son at several interviews over the years, and she even discussed walking around naked in front of the kid. Her Gisele-like public announcements regarding this kid always bothered me.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZma2xmboN4e8eio5qqqZTAuK3NpJasqJyewbSr1qKroZeapLWvq8KapKmho56sqbHRmJmosZantqa6w5imn5dlYr2twdKYsJ6Zoqh8