The two reached a private settlement with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia.
Colin Firth and his wife, Livia Giuggioli, have come to a private settlement with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia, who the couple alleged stalked Giuggioli after the two had an affair. Brancaccia has strenuously denied these accusations.
"In the best interests of their families, the parties have agreed [to] a private settlement," Firth's and Brancaccia's lawyers said in a joint statement to ET on Thursday. "Therefore the parties have asked the court for a postponement of the preliminary hearing in order to formalize the agreement. From this point on, this agreement precludes any further public statement by any of the parties about this matter."
Back in March, Giuggioli publicly admitted to having an affair with Brancaccia between 2015 and 2016, when she and Firth were briefly separated. At the end of the affair, Giuggioli claimed that Brancaccia had been harassing her with "frightening" messages, accusations which he previously denied to The Times.
"For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public. A few years ago, Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate," Firth and his wife told ET in a joint statement at the time. "During that time, Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited."
"Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented. As a consequence of his stalking, threats and refusal to desist, the legal complaint was lodged with the Italian authorities," the statement continued. "The reporting this week on this case is understood to be the consequence of a leaked court document. This is greatly to be regretted. It does not serve the interests of any of the parties involved."
But in Brancaccia's statement to The Times, he alleged that Giuggioli was lying to hide their relationship.
"[Livia] wanted to leave Colin for me," he claimed to the British newspaper. “My ‘stalking’ consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an email. I wrote an email to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work."
“In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary,” he also claimed.
Hear more in the video below.
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