She previously described her separation from long-term partner Tim Burton as 'transformative' and 'cruel'.But after 'grieving' the end of her relationship with the father of her two children, Helena Bonham Carter went on to find love with art historian Rye Dag Holmboe, a man 21 years her junior, after a 'chance' meeting at a mutual friend's wedding.The actress, 60, has been in a relationship with her 'old soul' lover, 38, since 2018, but despite the romance going from strength to strength, she has stood firm on her vow to never marry. Helena and Rye looked the image of domestic bliss as they were pictured enjoying a romantic stroll in Hampstead, north London, earlier this week. Although they appeared happier than ever, Sweeney Todd star Helena has explained she will never tie the knot because she can't make an 'unhealthy' promise to be with someone forever.Speaking about her relationship with Rye in December, Helena confessed: 'I mean, we're not meant to be forever. 'And I've never actually gotten married because I can't say those [words], I can't honestly make that promise because I just don't think it's a healthy one.' Inside Helena Bonham Carter's 'happy accident' toyboy romance with Rye Dag Holmboe after the pair looked the image of domestic bliss as they were pictured enjoying a romantic stroll in Hampstead, north London, earlier this week The actress previously described her separation from long-term partner Tim Burton as 'transformative' and 'cruel' (pictured with Tim in 2010)The smitten couple first locked eyes at a wedding both of them almost didn't attend.She told The Guardian of their meeting: 'A totally random thing, which both of us nearly didn't go to, so it was one of those moments that was so chance and ended up determining so much.'A really happy accident, and it's an amazing thing. I can't say much about Rye, because he's a psychoanalyst, so he needs his anonymity.'The couple went public with their romance the following year, five years after she split from her long-term partner, director Tim, 68.The actress had admitted it was time to find love again when she realised she was 'bored' of grieving her former relationship.She told Harper's Bazaar: 'You break up, you grieve, you get bored of grieving. And then you finally move on.'Speaking of Rye, she added: 'I'm very happy with someone else. It's been a bit of unexpected magic in my life.'Addressing the couple's 21-year age gap, the actress previously said in an interview with The Times: 'Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature. He's an old soul in a young body, what more could I want? 'People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn't. Women can be very powerful when they're older.' She added: 'There are people I've been involved with who aren't necessarily their age, maturity wise, whereas [Rye] is ageless.'The actress split from her long-term partner, director Tim, in 2014. The pair have two children, Billy, 22, and Nell, 18. But after 'grieving' the end of her relationship with the father of her two children, Helena went on to find love with Rye, a man 21 years her junior, after a 'chance' meeting at a mutual friend's wedding Although they appear happier than ever, Sweeney Todd star Helena has explained she will never tie the knot because she can't make an 'unhealthy' promise to be with someone foreverHelena and Tim were one of Hollywood's biggest power couples, working together on a string of Burton's films including Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows.Throughout their relationship, the couple famously maintained separate but adjoining homes in north London, connected by a hallway – an arrangement that raised eyebrows but that she has said worked perfectly for them.'The houses are joined,' Helena has explained. 'He always visits, which is really touching. He's always coming over. We have a throughway. 'Journalists think there's an underground tunnel, gothic. It's actually quite above ground, lots of light.'She admitted, however, they only shared a bed 'sometimes' because of 'a snoring issue': 'I talk, he snores. The other thing is, he's an insomniac, so he needs to watch television to get to sleep. I need silence.'The couple met on the set of 2001's Planet of the Apes, which Tim directed. 'You were the first person I thought of to play a chimpanzee,' he told her at the time.Once she got together with Tim, her public image was transformed and she became increasingly renowned for her quirky dress sense.'I feel like I have a reputation to keep,' Helena once said of her outlandish outfits. 'I have a responsibility now to dress badly – so it's kind of liberating.'Working with her partner, however, took its toll. 'It's not without its pressures, working with Tim,' she said in 2010 following their work on the first Alice in Wonderland film, which Tim also directed.'It worked on Alice. Sweeney was very stressful, very hard on our relationship. He's a partner in our private life, but when he's directing, he's the boss. And maybe I confuse that.' Helena and Tim became one of Hollywood's biggest power couples before their split in 2014 A spokesman for the couple said at the time of their split: 'Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter separated amicably earlier this year and have continued to be friends and co-parent their children.'However, there were signs their relationship was in trouble the year before, when Tim was pictured embracing a mystery blonde, thought to be one of his assistants, near his home in Hampstead, north London. At the time, the couple refused to comment. Helena credited her close circle of friends with helping her navigate her separation, which she refers to colloquially as a 'divorce', from Tim.'I was incredibly grateful for my friendships,' she said on the Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud podcast.'I think maybe my appreciation of them got bigger because they survived and supported me through this huge sea change.''Also very much so for my children because when you go through a divorce - well, I did anyway - you rely on your other people around you to help carry the family. 'I felt like I had to almost hitchhike on other people's families too.'She added: 'When I was feeling like mine was falling apart, and a divorce is truly - in a family that's close as ours - was transformative to everybody.'Having said that, if you don't fit each other, it takes a lot of bravery, but it's better to move than stop each other from going. I mean, we're not meant to be forever.'In 2020, Helena gave another rare insight into her split from Tim.The Crown actress hinted that while she was 'reluctant' to end their relationship, she added: 'Some parts of divorce are recommended.'Detailing her experience, Helena revealed: 'The cruelty of divorce is extraordinary. But then you get to a point where you're like, 'Oh, I get this week off!' Some parts are very much to be recommended.'Helena also revealed that she believes The Crown's creator Peter Morgan asked her to play Princess Margaret because she was able to relate to a very public break-up.While Helena insisted she wasn't able to reveal why she and Tim went their separate ways, she did say: 'I didn't leave, put it that way.' Tim started dating Italian actress Monica Bellucci, 61, in 2022 but the pair split in autumn 2025 (pictured in September 2024)Tim started dating Italian actress Monica Bellucci, 61, in 2022 but the pair split in autumn 2025.The couple issued a joint statement to the press, reading: 'It is with much respect and deep care for each other that Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have decided to part ways.'Monica later added: 'There are roads that, at a certain point, cross for a path that continues forever…Tim's road and mine met to make a path together and then split again.'As long as I live, however, Tim will always have a unique place in my heart.Before Tim, Helena embarked on a relationship with Sir Kenneth Branagh while he was still married to Emma Thompson after co-starring with him in 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The couple separated in 1999.