Juno actor Elliot Page and choreographer Emma Portner have announced that they are to divorce after three years of marriage.
“After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer,” they said in a statement.
The Canadian couple added: “We have the utmost respect for each other and remain close friends.”
They first announced they were getting married in January 2018 after initially meeting on Instagram.
Page, 33, came out as transgender in December 2020.
“I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot,” Page wrote. “I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life.
“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place.”
The decision attracted widespread praise from both fans and co-stars alike, with Page hailed by Ian McKellen – who he starred opposite in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand.
“Everything gets better [when you come out] because you get self-confidence,” McKellen explained. The actor came out as gay to the general public in 1988.
“So you get better in terms of relationships, friends of all sorts, family, if you’re lucky,” he said. “And in my case, I think in every case, your acting is bound to change and improve.”
Recalling his experience working alongside Page on the superhero film, McKellen added: “I remember Elliot Page, in one of the X-Men, sat as close as we are now. And I had to speak when they’d finished, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Nobody could hear what they were saying.
“So, I said, ‘Look, if you can’t speak up, would you mind when you’re finished speaking, just dropping your hand so I know when you’ve finished speaking?’
Ian McKellen added: “And then they came out [as gay] years later and suddenly you couldn’t stop them talking. You heard everything.”
Commenting on Page’s announcement last December, McKellen said: “And now… they’re Elliot. And I’m so happy for Elliot. And so disappointed in myself that I didn’t detect what their difficulty was with communicating.”
Elliot Page currently stars in The Umbrella Academy as Vanya Hargreeves / The White Violin / Number Seven, and will be reprising his role in season three.
