Why Stanley Tucci Tried To End His Relationship With Felicity Blunt

Stanley Tucci would have never met Felicity Blunt if it wasn't for "The Devil Wears Prada." While attending the hit film's premiere in 2006, Stanley's co-star Emily Blunt introduced him and his wife at the time, Kate Tucci, to her sister, Felicity Blunt. During a subsequent appearance on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast, in 2021, the actor revealed that a strange connection had formed between his two wives when Stanley snapped a photo of them together. After that fateful night, the two naturally went their separate ways, with their paths only crossing again at Emily and John Krasinski's 2010 wedding, which happened about a year after Kate sadly passed away after undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Later, a source told Us Weekly that Emily had always been fond of the "Hunger Games" star and believed he would be a wonderful match for her sister, so she played Cupid for them. 

While the bestselling cookbook author was undoubtedly happy in his surprising new relationship, once it eventually turned romantic, he had one major problem. "I was afraid to get into a relationship and I kept trying to break it off," Stanley explained on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" during a 2023 appearance. "I'm 21 years older than she is and I didn't want to feel old for the rest of my life! But I knew that this was an incredibly special person." Fortunately, the actor overcame his fears and popped the question in 2011. By all accounts, Stanley and Felicity's relationship appeared to be going strong after the proposal. In reality, however, he was grappling with the life-altering decision. 

Speaking to The Times in 2015, Stanley Tucci acknowledged struggling after initially proposing to Felicity Blunt because he was grieving the death of his longtime wife, Kate Tucci. "I panicked instantly afterwards," the "Lovely Bones" star confessed. "It was very hard to go on vacations at first, really hard to go with Felicity someplace. I felt guilty. It's horrible." Stanley understood that Felicity was also struggling around the start of their relationship because she had to deal with the actor's grief while seeing photos of his late wife displayed around Stanley's home. On "Desert Island Discs," the "Big Night" star detailed how wonderful the literary agent was to him and the three children he had with Kate as they processed the insurmountable loss. 

"If anybody made things better for all of us, it's her. She's the one," the actor gushed. Kate was equally supportive as Stanley dealt with another tragic detail of his life: His 2017 oral cancer diagnosis. As the "Taste" author disclosed to People in 2022, the chemotherapy and radiation sessions took away Stanley's sense of taste and smell, and he had to rely on a feeding tube. During his "Desert Island Discs" chat, the beloved star revealed that Felicity was pregnant with his second child as he underwent treatment, and Stanley's daughter, Emilia, ultimately came into the world in the same hospital where he was being treated. Reflecting on those challenging times with People, Stanley shared, "Felicity's undying attention, affection and encouragement got me through it."