Charlize Theron And Sean Penn Find That Their Strange, Mad Love Was Not Enough

It seems like everyone is talking about the seemingly sudden break-up of Charlize Theron and Sean Penn, a couple so in love that they were so recently caught house-hunting together. Even their last public appearance, which E! News states was on May 16 at the at Vienna Life Ball, adds a taste of mystery to the Theron-Penn break-up.

Colleagues, fans, and media commentators were remarking on the particularly attentive way that Charlize and Sean engaged one another, often indulging in public displays of affection at events such as the Mad Max: Fury Road premiere in Los Angeles. It seemed the red carpet wasn’t the only aisle Charlize and Penn were destined to walk together, even if Sean was less than revealing in statements made to the press.

“I have no idea,” Penn responded to questions about an impending engagement to Ms. Theron, while inside sources confirmed that Theron and Penn had “made a commitment to be together for the rest of their lives.”

Charlize seemed more open, when it came to speaking of her relationship with Sean, often sounding like a dreamy schoolgirl whenever Sean Penn was brought to her attention.

“It’s great when you find something that’s real and it’s hard to keep that sacred, to keep that private in this work, but I go home at night and I close my front door and I’m a really, really happy girl.”

Ms. Theron spoke in an interview of the long-time friendship on which their romantic relationship was based, so it may be hard for fans not to envision an especially brokenhearted Charlize Theron at this moment.

“We’ve been friends for 20 years. He was married, I was in a long-term relationship… but we were in each other’s lives. I think our friendship stemmed from mutual respect—more on my end, because I really didn’t have a body of work 20 years ago, but my love and passion for making films—that was our common ground.”

Mr. Penn would later reveal his own adoration for Charlize Theron, remarking on the magic of love and how it made him thankful for every day he had spent in Ms. Theron’s company.

“I’m surprised to be in love. Lot of reasons. Fifty-three years old [when they got together] plus finally beginning to figure out why you haven’t been happy in a single relationship? It could seem too late.”

It may not be too late for either of them, but they won’t be finding that happiness together. One trip to the Cannes Film Festival seemed to have been just one public appearance too many for Charlize and Sean. Ms. Theron ended the relationship upon their return home. Apparently, what happens in France, does not stay in France.

[Featured image: Charlize Theron and Sean Penn courtesy of Ian Gavan/Getty Images]