Emma Thompson, a British actress, has revealed that she got an unexpected romantic proposal from Donald Trump on the same day her divorce was finalized in 1998.
The 66-year-old Oscar winner revealed the story at a masterclass at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on Friday.
Thompson stated that the future US president called her trailer when she was filming the political comedy Primary Colors, offering an invitation to stay at one of his houses and have supper.
The actress joked that taking the offer may have changed American political history.
She described Trump’s manner of acquiring her private trailer phone number as “stalking.”
Thompson described receiving the surprise phone call while working on set. “The phone rang in my trailer, and it was Donald Trump. I assumed it was a joke. “Hi, it’s Donald Trump here,” she informed festivalgoers, impersonating his voice.
Thompson was first perplexed by the contact and figured the property magnate may need assistance. “I asked, ‘How can I help you?'” “I thought he needed directions,” she said.
Trump then expanded his invitation, saying, “I would love for you to stay in one of my beautiful places, and maybe we could have dinner.”
Thompson reacted diplomatically to the surprise proposal. “I just responded, ‘Okay, well, I’ll get back to you.'” Thank you so much for calling,” she recalls.
Thompson commented on the timing of Trump’s contact, noting that it corresponded with the formalization of her divorce settlement. “On that day, I realized that my divorce had finally been finalized. I suppose he’s hunting all over for acceptable individuals to take out for all these gorgeous divorcees,” she remarked.
The actress was astounded by Trump’s ingenuity in discovering her contact information. “He discovered the number to my trailer! “That is stalking,” she cried.
Thompson joked about the probable implications of accepting while reflecting on his experience with humor. “So, yes, I could have had a date with Donald Trump.” “I could have altered the course of American history.”
Thompson’s marriage to actor-director Kenneth Branagh ended in 1995 after she discovered he had many romances with other women while filming.
“I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set,” she said to the New Yorker in 2022.
The actress spoke about the devastating consequences of discovering Branagh’s adultery, namely his romance with Helena Bonham Carter during the 1994 production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
“I was half-alive. She remarked that she no longer felt lovable or worthy.
When Trump called Thompson, he had just divorced his second wife, Marla Maples, and had yet to meet his future wife, Melania Knauss.