The day Emma Thompson’s divorce became official, she got a phone call she never saw coming.
It was from Donald Trump. And yes, it was as strange as it sounds.
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Emma told the story while accepting an award
Emma shared the memory at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where she was being honored with the Leopard Club Award.
During her speech, she mentioned that Trump had asked her out the same day her marriage to Kenneth Branagh officially ended.
A call from Trump interrupted her day
According to The Telegraph, she was in her trailer on the set of Primary Colors when the phone rang. A man’s voice said, “Hello, this is Donald Trump.”
For a moment, she thought it couldn’t be real.
She thought it was a joke
“I thought it was a joke and asked, ‘How can I help you?’ Maybe he needed directions from someone,” she recalled. “Then he said: ‘I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.’”
It was completely out of the blue.
Her response was friendly but final
She just said, “Well, that’s very sweet. Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you.”
That was the last of it.
Emma guesses at his reason for calling
She believes Trump, who had also recently gone through a separation, might have had people scouting for someone to date.
“I realized that on that day, my divorce decree had come through. And I bet he’s got people looking for suitable people he could take out on his arm. You know, a nice divorcée, that’s what he was looking for,” she said.
Then she laughed about him somehow finding her trailer number. “I mean, that’s stalking.”
The thought still makes her laugh
She wondered aloud what could have happened if she had said yes.
“I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump, and then I would have a story to tell. I could have changed the course of American history.”
Her marriage to Kenneth Branagh ended years ago
Emma met Kenneth Branagh in 1987 while filming Fortunes of War. They married in 1989 but divorced six years later after his affair with Helena Bonham Carter.
She’s now married to Greg Wise
In 2003, she married Greg Wise, who she met while working on Sense and Sensibility. They have two children, Tindyebwa “Tindy” Agaba and Gaia. Gaia, now 25, joined her at the Locarno Film Festival.
Trump’s marriages have also made headlines
Trump divorced Marla Maples in 1997. Before that, he was married to Ivana Trump. He later married Melania in 2005 and has been with her since.
