Colin Firth and his wife, Livia Giuggioli, stepped out publicly on Thursday for the first time since news of the scandal surfaced.
The two appeared alongside actress Julianne Moore in Basil, Switzerland, for an event promoting the luxury jewelry company, Chopard.
Giuggioli confirmed earlier this month that she’d had an 11-month affair beginning in 2015 with the couple’s alleged stalker, a journalist named Marco Brancaccia, when she was separated from Firth.
“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. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia,” a representative for the actor told HuffPost earlier this month.
The couple reunited after the affair. They have been married for over two decades and have two teenage children.
After Giuggioli broke things off, the journalist allegedly began stalking and harassing the Firths.
“Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented,” the statement said. “As a consequence of his stalking, threats and refusal to desist, the legal complaint was lodged with the Italian authorities.” The Firths have a home in Umbria, Italy.
Brancaccia denies the allegations and told PEOPLE magazine that he only reached out to Giuggioli three times after their affair ended.
“The reality is that Livia and I have known each other since we were youths, then in 2015-2016 we had an 11-month love affair,” Brancaccia said. “After it ended in June 2016 I never called her again. I did send her two WhatsApp messages, one happy birthday [text message] and an email to Colin, the latter which I truly regret.”
Brancaccia says he stopped contacting the couple after getting a message back from the actor.
“It hurt me very much so I wrote to him and told him everything about our affair. After a couple of days he answered. He was polite,” the journalist told PEOPLE. “He wrote something along the lines of, ‘You hurt me, but I understand that you are hurting too.’ After that, I never got in touch with them again.”
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