NEED TO KNOW
Billy Crudup offered a rare insight into where things stand with his ex
Crudup and Mary-Louise Parker dated for eight years before breaking up in 2003, when she was pregnant with their son, William, who is now 21
Crudup has since married Naomi Watts, whom he’s been dating since 2017
Billy Crudup‘s son will always come first.
In a new interview with The Times, the Morning Show actor, 57, was asked about where things stand with his ex, Mary-Louise Parker, with whom he shares his 21-year-old son, William Parker.
Crudup made it clear that he would answer the question “without commenting on any of” the romantic history between him and his ex, whom he dated for eight years and split from in 2003 — when she was pregnant with their son — to date Claire Danes.
The insight Crudup did offer on where things stand between him and Mary-Louise was that they have a shared “adoration for our son,” which he said is “boundless.”
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Mary Louise Parker and boyfriend Billy Crudup at the 2000 New York Magazine Awards
“And he has, through the mash-up of the two of us, been endowed with superpowers for theatricality,” Crudup said of the 21-year-old, whom he called “such a badass.”
Following in his parents’ footsteps, William has pursued a career in filmmaking, and Crudup said, “Mary-Louise and I appeared in most of his films.”
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Both Crudup and Mary-Louise have rarely spoken about their relationship, or how it ended, in the more than two decades since their split.
Crudup went on to marry his longtime girlfriend, Naomi Watts, in 2023, and Mary-Louise was later linked to her Weeds costar Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
After Crudup wed Watts — first in a New York City courthouse wedding, then with a party in Mexico City in 2024 — Mary-Louise shared her support for her ex.
“I wish them well,” she told The Guardian after their courthouse wedding.
“Absolutely, I honestly of course wish them every happiness because that’s my son’s father,” Mary-Louise added of Crudup and Watts, 57. “So I’m happy for them. I’m happy they found each other.”
STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty
Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup at the Venice Film Festival premiere of “Jay Kelly”
Last month, Watts gushed to PEOPLE about Crudup, saying he’s “just the best listener” and “the most present human being.”
Calling him “gentle and supportive and funny and smart as anything,” the actress said of their relationship, which began in 2017, “We have something quite special.”
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