Downton Abbey actress Laura Carmichael has publicly discussed her secret marriage to fellow cast member Michael C. Fox for the first time, revealing intimate details of their on-set romance and family life.
From Co-Stars to Life Partners
The couple first met in 2014 while filming the fifth series of the hit ITV period drama. Carmichael portrayed Lady Edith Crawley, while Fox played Andrew 'Andy' Parker, a second footman who later becomes butler. Their real-life relationship blossomed away from the cameras, though they kept it largely private from the public eye.
In a candid interview with Kirsty Wark on BBC Radio 4, Carmichael confirmed the romance when directly asked if she found love on set. "I did yes. Michael Fox who plays Andy Parker, yeah he's my fella!" she cheerfully admitted, breaking her long silence about their relationship.
A Secret Wedding and Growing Family
The pair quietly tied the knot in a secret ceremony, with Fox first revealing they were married during an NBC special, Downton Abbey Celebrates The Grand Finale, earlier this year. "I owe a lot to this show. I think so much of my life has been shaped around this show," he emotionally stated during the programme.
Their family expanded with the birth of their first child, a son named Luca, in 2021, though this news only emerged publicly in May 2022. A source close to the couple told The Sun on Sunday at the time that "Laura and Michael absolutely love being parents and were grateful to have some time away from the limelight to enjoy the moment."
Navigating Upstairs-Downstairs Dynamics
Carmichael shared amusing anecdotes about working alongside her real-life partner while maintaining their characters' distinct social positions. "Yeah which is very funny how hard that is for people to get their heads around," she remarked about their 'upstairs-downstairs' dynamic on screen.
She recalled a particularly humorous incident during filming at Highclere Castle: "There was a funny time in the film when Michael was holding a very heavy tray of champagne glasses for hours... And he noticed his shoelaces were undone so he said to me, 'Do you mind just holding this for a second'."
"And I must have been holding this tray a second before five different crew members came running up to me going, 'Let me take that, you don't need to hold that, Laura it's fine'. And we were like, he's been holding it all day." This story highlights the sometimes surreal experience of maintaining fictional hierarchies while sharing a close personal relationship.
The couple have consistently prioritised privacy, with Fox previously telling the Sunday Post they deliberately kept their romance separate from work: "We'd go to work and we didn't want it to be a thing in any way when we were working together. It was great, though, to go to work with your best pal."
Despite their discretion, Carmichael has occasionally expressed her gratitude for their meeting. In a 2019 interview with Town and Country, she reflected: "I've fallen in love and made wonderful friends – how lucky am I?" She added that sharing the unique experience of working on such a major production created a special bond: "It can be really beautiful when you're working together and chatting about stuff that's hard and they get it."
The couple were last seen together publicly at the Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premiere in London, where Carmichael wore a noticeable ring on her wedding finger. They continue to balance their successful acting careers with raising their young son, maintaining the private family life they've carefully built since their days at Downton.
