![\"94th](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1388061934-e1761739428279.jpg\")
\n\t\tSir Anthony Hopkins has shared details about the breakdown of his first marriage (Picture: Momodu Mansaray\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tSir Anthony Hopkins has shared details about the breakdown of his first marriage (Picture: Momodu Mansaray\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Sir Anthony Hopkins <\/a>has admitted he walked out on his first marriage after becoming \u2018afraid\u2019 he could become physically violent.<\/p>\n The Welsh actor<\/a>, 87, rose to prominence as part of the Royal National Theatre, going on to star in films including The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon, The Two Popes and The Father<\/a>.<\/p>\n Throughout his career he\u2019s won two Academy Awards<\/a>, four BAFTA Awards, two Primetime Emmy<\/a> Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award.<\/p>\n Now, the acclaimed performer <\/a>is about to release his memoir, We Did Ok, Kid, which shares details of his personal life <\/a>away from the spotlight over the years.<\/p>\n That includes the breakdown of his turbulent marriage to first wife, actress Petronella Barker, from 1967 until 1972.<\/p>\n Writing in his memoir, as per the Daily Mail<\/a>, Sir Anthony explains: \u2018In the evenings, I bought bottles of whiskey at the off-license and took them back to the flat. My depression<\/a> was boundless; the booze was my pacifier. I brooded. She raged.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t However, by the time they realised \u2018what an awful match we were\u2019, she was pregnant with their daughter Abigail.<\/p>\n He went on to explain that his wife loathed his working-class parents and would leave the house when they came to visit.<\/p>\n But, acknowledging his own shortcomings, he explained that he was \u2018impossible to live with\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018I didn\u2019t know how to cut through, how to become human, how to keep myself from slipping into darkness.\u2019<\/p>\n The couple had \u2018frequent rows\u2019, but one night it \u2018reached a new pitch\u2019. \u2018I returned from working on location in Scotland<\/a>. Exhausted after endless days on set and the long trip home, I set down my suitcases in the hall.\u2019<\/p>\n Before his coat was off, Petronella was mocking him, staring at him with \u2018utter contempt\u2019 and calling him \u2018Mr Lord High and Mighty\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I had never been physically violent, but in that moment, I was filled with such revulsion that I became afraid for both myself and her,\u2019 he shared.<\/p>\n After saying goodbye to their then 14-month-old daughter, he packed his bag and left.<\/p>\n \u2018Aside from sending financial support, I didn\u2019t have contact with Petronella and Abigail for a few years after that. It is the saddest fact of my life, and my greatest regret, and yet I feel absolutely sure that it would have been much worse for everyone if I\u2019d stayed,\u2019 he reflected.<\/p>\n Sir Anthony went on to marry film production assistant Jennifer Lynton in 1973, before they divorced in 2002. He has been married to antiques dealer Stella Arroyave since 2003.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, he was asked about his strained relationship with his daughter, whom he is estranged from.<\/p>\n Sir Anthony told The New York Times<\/a> newspaper that his wife Stella had reached out for her to \u2018come and see us\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t \u2018Not a word of response. So I think, okay, fine,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n He added that he wouldn\u2019t \u2018waste blood\u2019 over their situation: \u2018I wish her well, but I\u2019m not going to waste blood over that. If you want to waste your life being in resentment, fine, go ahead.\u2019<\/p>\n Sir Anthony then explained he wasn\u2019t going to carry any feelings of \u2018resentment\u2019 and acknowledged that he was \u2018imperfect\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018I could carry resentment over the past, but that\u2019s death. You\u2019re not living. You have to acknowledge one thing: that we are imperfect.We\u2019re not saints. We\u2019re all sinners and saints or whatever we are. We do the best we can.<\/p>\n \u2018Life is painful. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes\u00a0we\u00a0get hurt. But you can\u2019t live like that. You have to say, Get over it. And if you can\u2019t get over it, fine, good luck to you. I have no judgment. But I did what I could. So that\u2019s it. That\u2019s all I want to say.\u2019<\/p>\n When asked if he hoped his daughter would read his new memoir, he said he didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t \u2018I\u2019m not going to answer that. No. I don\u2019t care.\u2019<\/p>\n When the reporter said they\u2019d move on, he said:\u00a0\u2018Please. I want you to. Because I don\u2019t want to hurt her.\u2019<\/p>\n The actor has previously commented on his daughter, who is now in her mid-fifties, admitting he has no idea what her life is like now.<\/p>\n In 2018, when asked by Radio Times if he is a grandfather now<\/a>, Sir Anthony replied: \u2018I don\u2019t have any idea. People break up. Families split and, you know, \u201cGet on with your life.\u201d People make choices. I don\u2019t care one way or the other.\u2019<\/p>\n In another interview in 2002, with the American DJ Howard Stern, Sir Anthony said of his daughter. \u201cI hardly ever hear from her.<\/p>\n \u2018She probably has good reasons. I guess we are estranged. I hope she is well. She is too busy and has to do her own thing. I think she is in England somewhere. Life is life. You get on with it.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t In a 2006 interview with The Telegraph<\/a>, Abigail, who is a singer, said she could possibly be open to a reunion.<\/p>\n \u2018It would have to be a two-way thing, though. I don\u2019t know how I would feel about it. We have never really been close. We\u2019ve never discussed big life issues. Because, well, our relationship was always so sporadic. I\u2019ve never felt I could discuss those sorts of things with him.\u2019<\/p>\n She added that she saw her father once a year growing up, until they fell out when she was 16, about her mother.<\/p>\n \u2018I would see him, but maybe once a year. There is a little bit of sadness but I have to get on with my life. It has always been like that. See him, and then not. Then, when I was 16, there was some row,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n We Did Ok, Kid will be released on November 4.<\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1187623498.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Welsh actor rose to fame as part of the Royal National Theatre before starring in a string of hit films (Picture: Evening Standard\/ Hulton Archive\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_13631568-1ce5-e1761641342421.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe was married to actress Petronella Barker from 1967 until 1972 (Picture: Jenny Goodall\/ Daily Mail\/ Rex\/ Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_272026881-aca8.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe couple had daughter Abigail together (Picture: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_272026934-a56d.jpg\")
\n\t\tShe is now a singer-songwriter, actor, and documentary\/filmmaker.\u00a0(Picture: Andrew Stuart\/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1674178446.jpg\")
\n\t\tHis second wife was film production assistant Jennifer Lynton (Picture: Michael Ochs Archives\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"RIYADH,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_236449867-b74e.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe\u2019s been married to Stella Arroyave Hopkins since 2003 (Picture: Cedric Ribeiro\/Getty Images for GEA)<\/p>\n![\"BEVERLY](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_95924921-13f2-e1761641319788.jpg\")
\n\t\tSir Anthony is about to release his memoir (Picture: Rich Fury\/ VF22\/ Getty Images for Vanity Fair)<\/p>\n
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