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Hollywood director Tim Burton and Italian actress and model Monica Bellucci are separating, they announced Friday in a statement.

They simply said: 'It is with much respect and deep care for each other that Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have decided to part ways.'

Monica, 60 and Tim, 67, have been dating since October 2023, and he directed her in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - their first project together. 

The couple were last pictured together on June 14, with Tim lovingly kissing Monica on the cheek on stage at the 71st Taormina Film Festival. 

Tim and Monica first met in 2006 but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon in October 2022.

Monica confirmed their relationship in June of the following year as she told Elle France: 'What I can say... I'm glad I met the man, first of all.'

Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have SPLIT: Couple released a joint statement on Friday after their two year relationship ends as they part with 'much respect and care for each other' (pictured in September 2024)

She continued: 'It's one of those encounters that rarely happens in life... I know the man, I love him, and now I'm going to meet the director, another adventure begins.

'I love Tim. And I have great respect for Tim Burton.'

The couple worked alongside each other last year when they made Beetlejuice  Beetlejuice. 

The actress wasn’t in the original film, Beetlejuice, made 35 years ago, but Tim has a habit of casting his lovers in his films and she played Delores, the ex-wife of Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice in this film.

The character is like a 'stitched up doll,' she said.

Speaking ahead of the premiere, Monica said: 'I’m so honoured to be part of this film and to come into Tim’s world.'

She added: 'Tim is an artist and he knows how to make situations that are fantastic and horrific and comic and emotional all at the same time.

'He helped me so much to create this monster, more than a monster, she is a creature. She is mean but also charming.

'She is a metaphor of life. Tim told me about the character and said he thought of me, and he showed me what he thought.

'Tim loves Italy and he loves Italian films and he has showed me so many many films. I have discovered Mario Bava (director of the 1957 horror classic I Vampiri) thanks to him.'

The couple were last pictured together on June 14, with Tim lovingly kissing Monica on the cheek on stage at the 71st Taormina Film Festival

Monica's last relationship was with Nicolas Lefebvre, whom she split from in 2019. She was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013.

The former model met Vincent in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimouni’s film l’Appartement. 

They have two daughters, Deva, who was born in 2004, and Leonie, who entered the world in 2010.

They were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera.

Monica spoke about love in an interview with Paris Match back in 2011 when she was still married to Vincent, admitting there is 'no rationality' for her when it comes to relationships.

She said: 'I am carried by the moment and instinct. No rationality, only emotions. You love or you don't.'

'You don't decide sitting around a table: OK, so I have two kids, 16 years of life as a couple, that would be nice if it lasts, but how I am going to make it work?

'I don't think at all that a couple is something "you work out", as we say.' 

Monica was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013. The former model met Vincent in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimouni’s film l’Appartement (pictured in 2002)
Tim was famously in a relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 56, but they split in 2014 (pictured in 2011)

Tim was famously in a relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 56, but they split in 2014.

The pair were never married, but were together for 13 years and share two children; son Billy, 20, and daughter Nell, 16.

Helena spoke about the split with Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2016. 

She said: 'You go through massive grief - it is a death of a relationship, so it’s utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes.' 

'Just saying: "I'm not myself at the moment, so be careful. Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it’s okay to be fragile.'

Helena and Tim got together in 2001 after he cast her as an ape in Planet Of The Apes.

They famously lived in inter-connecting houses during their relationship, with each property decorated to their own his 'n' hers tastes and personal styles.

Tim BurtonMonica Bellucci

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