Dominic West Is Worried About His Upcoming Press Tour With Lily James. Here's Why

For celebs, few things are more daunting and tedious than a press tour for a new project. But when you're Dominic West and Lily James, there is something else to factor in beside call times and travel schedules: how to handle awkward questions about your chemistry with your co-star. Celeb gossip fanatics will remember that West and James were spotted engaged in some pretty heavy PDA while filming "The Pursuit of Love" in Rome back in October 2020. Pictures surfaced of the two having an intimate lunch together and also photographed kissing on a scooter. 

And this wasn't some sort of thing where paparazzi catches two costars actually filming PDA or romantic scenes together and then try to push them off as scandalous — these two were very much canoodling in their off time. Us Weekly even confirmed that the PDA was in front of their manager and that West wasn't wearing his wedding ring at the time. 

There's nothing wrong with a budding romance between two movie stars on set; it happens all the time. So what's the issue this time around? Well, West was still currently very married to Catherine Fitzgerald, his wife for over a decade and the mother to the four kids they share, Dora, Sena, Francis, and Christabel. Once the pics surfaced, the couple issued a statement together, all but confirming the affair as well as their desire to stay married. "Our marriage is strong and we're very much still together," they wrote.

With the press tour for "The Pursuit of Love" coming up in the summer of 2021, Dominic West is reportedly nervous that the rumors of a relationship with Lily James will overshadow any questions about the actual film. And for good reason: any good entertainment reporter would be remiss to not even allude to the pics to get a good quote from the stars, right? Alas, a source tells Us Weekly, "Dominic has prepped Lily prior to doing press for "The Pursuit of Love" and he as well won't be answering any questions about their affair." They added, "Dominic and his wife are going strong and he'd like to keep it that way without having the past come and haunt them." 

In May, James fielded questions in an interview with The Guardian about the rumors. "Ach, I'm not really willing to talk about that," she answered. "There is a lot to say, but not now, I'm afraid." The previous source mentioned that West was not thrilled that she had even said as much, which might be why he is trying to get ahead of any offhand questions before he and James set out on their press tour. No matter how hard they prep, someone is bound to ask about those steamy pics.