Michael Sheen admits split with Kate was painful

The Frost/Nixon star admits he found it difficult to cope when his relationship with the actress, the mother of his ten-year-old daughter Lily, ended in 2003 after she left him for director Len Wiseman.

Michael Sheen almost went "off the rails" when he split from Kate Beckinsale. The Frost/Nixon star admits he found it difficult to cope when his relationship with the actress, the mother of his ten-year-old daughter Lily, ended in 2003 after she left him for director Len Wiseman.

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Michael, who shares custody of Lily with Kate, said: "The hardest thing was having to deal with a break-up in the midst of so much media attention. I wasn't used to that kind of attention and I wasn't prepared for the intensity of it. It caught me completely by surprise. For a while I thought I was going off the rails. Breaking up is a shock. It was a very unpleasant, painful time. Suddenly my life had changed overnight."

However, Michael - who has a very amicable relationship with Kate and is now dating ballet dancer Lorraine Stewart - admits he now feels "flattered" when photographers pay him any attention. He added to Britain's Live magazine: "But it's not like I'm Amy Winehouse or Sienna Miller. I don't get the paparazzi following me around. In fact, when the paparazzi show any interest in taking a picture of me now I feel quite flattered. Because it so very rarely happens."