Jamie Dornan admits he dumped ex Kiera Knightley as he felt inferior beside her

Jamie Dornan, the Northern Irish star who turns 42 today, dated some big Hollywood names before settling down.

Starting his career as a model in the early 2000s, he posed for big names like Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Dior before transitioning into acting.

He landed the role of Sheriff Graham Humbert in Once Upon a Time and later gained fame for his roles as Christian Grey in Fifty Shades and Elliot Stanley in The Tourist.

In his younger days, Jamie was linked to several Hollywood A-listers including Kiera Knightley, Sienna Miller, Lindsay Lohan and Kate Moss.

His relationship with Keira from 2003 until 2005 was particularly notable, with Jamie admitting that he felt inferior as her fame soared, the Mirror reports.

He once confessed to the Mail on Sunday: "There is a big pressure when you go out with someone like Keira. You can feel a bit second-rate and that's what started to happen.

"It's not like I was bringing the bread to the table - and that can start to affect everything. Keira could see what I was going through and it would have been better if I'd kept it hidden from her."

In 2010, Jamie found love with actor-turned-musician Amelia Warner after meeting her at a mutual friend's party. T

hey got hitched three years later and are now proud parents to three daughters, Dulcie, 10, Elva, seven, and Alberta, four.

The family reportedly resides in a £1.75million farmhouse in the Cotswolds, having relocated from LA.

Jamie Dornan openly admitted to being smitten with his now-wife Amelia Warner long before they crossed paths.

Speaking on Face to Face back in 2018, he shared: "I had this weird thing where I always felt that if I met her that we would just get on. It was just a strange thing. Something about her eyes. I just thought that we would work."

He went on to divulge more about their initial encounter during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, recounting: "She'd been an actor so I knew who she was.

"I always fancied her, and we were doing karaoke and... a friend of ours said, 'Listen, Amelia Warner's at a house party up by Los Feliz and she's single.' I literally dropped the mic and was like, you know, ran for the hills."

Amelia Warner, an accomplished composer whose music has graced many films including Wild Mountain Thyme, a film Jamie starred in alongside Emily Blunt, had previously been in a brief non-legal marriage with Colin Farrell which ended after four months.

Reflecting on his relationship with Amelia, Jamie expressed to the Belfast Telegraph: "I was smitten with her from the start, I really was. I'm more in love with her today than I was at the start."

Jamie Dornan has opened up about the relief of being married, telling Marie Claire he's "absolutely delighted" to no longer be the subject of romantic speculation.

He expressed his disdain for social media invasions into his family life, stating: "Absolutely delighted. But saying that, people like to go after your family and sh*t as well.

"It's one of the main reasons I left social media. They say horrific things about your loved ones, and so it opens up fast... but yes, the idea of being single makes me instantly sweat."

The Northern Irish actor also dismissed any whispers of discord with his 'Fifty Shades' co-star Dakota Johnson, ensuring fans they have a great rapport.

Dornan clarified: "We get on very well, we make each other laugh and we're comfortable with each other, which is very important because Jesus, if I didn't get on with her... I've heard horror stories of that happening.

"Actors who have to do intimate things with another actor and they just don't get on... It's not good."

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