Alan Cumming has been a familiar face on screen, from his role in The Good Wife through to hosting the American version of The Traitors. However, the star - who is presenting the 2026 Bafta Film Awards - has a romantic history that is much less well known.
The 61-year-old actor, who will take to the stage at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on February 22, has kept his love life rather private. Although, with his long-term marriage to a man, he has been seen as one of the foremost representatives for queer culture in Hollywood and on TV.
© PeacockDespite this, a fact that many fans forget is that before Alan's years as an LGBTQ+ icon, he was married to a woman. Here's all you need to know about his life off-screen - including his relationship with ex-wife Hilary Lyon…
© Getty ImagesWho is Alan Cumming's ex-wife, Hilary Lyon?
Hilary Lyon is a Scottish actress, who has been working on stage and in TV since the early 1990s. She performed with the English Touring Theatre Company, most notably playing Ophelia in their 1993 production of Hamlet.
Her debut TV appearance was a 1992 episode of Between the Lines, and she followed that up with a variety of small screen roles in shows like Chef!, The High Life, Dangerfield, Taggart and Outlander. Her last listed credit, per IMDb, is a 2019 episode of Trust Me.
According to her LinkedIn page, she also wrote and starred in BBC Radio 4's dramedy Secrets and Lattes, as well as writing and starring in Baggage, also for BBC Radio 4.
© Back/Daily Mail/ShutterstockAlan and Hilary's marriage
Alan and Hilary met while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama together in the 1980s. They married in 1985, when the actor was just 20 years old. Soon afterwards, Alan began finding success in TV and on stage, and they moved to a home in the Crouch End area of north London.
"I was in a relationship that I thought was going to last forever," he told The Guardian, of their marriage at the time. "Being one of those cardigan-wearing actors that are on BBC dramas a lot and do seasons at the National." Alan and Hilary even got the chance to work together in 1993 when they co-starred in Hamlet, winning nationwide acclaim and several awards.
© Alamy Stock PhotoTheir divorce
Alan's run in Hamlet, however, also led to immense stress, struggles with panic attacks, and the deterioration of their marriage. That same year, the couple got divorced, and he moved out of their home and into a flat in Islington.
Alan, who is openly bisexual, also shared with The Guardian that it led to him rediscovering relationships with men, something he had pursued before meeting Hilary. "It wasn't like I stopped being married and said I was gay,' he shared. "I was aware of that, and then I did that for a little bit."
© Variety via Getty ImagesHilary's life since
Not much is known about Hilary's life following their split. She continued acting long after their divorce. In 2001, she married Matt Ponting, whose LinkedIn page lists him as an IT Practitioner and NFT Manager for 2i Testing. They share two kids and currently live in Edinburgh.
© Bruce Glikas/WireImageAlan's new love
After his divorce from Hilary, Alan dated actress Saffron Burrows for two years, and theatre director Nick Philippou for six years. In 2005, he found love with illustrator Grant Shaffer.
They became civil partners in 2007 at the Old Royal Naval College in London, and exactly five years later, they got legally married in New York City.
