Claire Danes Talks Billy Crudup Leaving Pregnant Mary-Louise Parker

So. Much. History! Claire Danes opened up to Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show on Monday, Oct. 5, about her controversial relationship with Billy Crudup more than 10 years ago — Crudup left pregnant Mary-Louise Parker to be with Danes — and whether she regrets it.

Stern first asked Danes, now 36, whether the judgment from the public at the time was a terrifying experience. “That was a scary thing,” the Homeland actress recalled of the infamous 2003 incident. “That was really hard. I didn’t know how to not do that.”

In 2003, Crudup left his girlfriend of eight years, Parker, while she was seven months pregnant to pursue a romance with Danes, whom he met on the set of their film, Stage Beauty.

“I was just in love with him,” Danes reflected of the relationship. “And needed to explore that and I was 24… I didn’t quite know what those consequences would be.”

Danes and the Almost Famous actor, 47, stayed in a relationship for four years until she moved on with her future husband, Hugh Dancy. Though admittedly young and careless at the time, Danes said she was at peace with the situation involving Crudup. “But it’s okay,” she mused. “I went through it.”

In fact, they’re cool. “We’re friendly, we’re friends.”

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Parker, 51, who has since kept quiet about the affair, will most likely address it in her upcoming memoir, Dear Mr. You. The book, which is set to hit shelves on Nov. 10, will include a series of letters the Weeds actress penned to the men in her life — undoubtedly, among them, Crudup, with whom she shares 11-year-old son William.

Along with addressing her past with Crudup on Monday, Danes also made several other revelations during her chat with Stern. The My So Called Life alum also confirmed that she and her costar Jared Leto never hooked up, with age being the main factor. (Leto was 7 years older).

Danes also discussed how she turned down the role of Rose in 1997’s Titanic, which ultimately went to Kate Winslet. The reason was because Danes had previously acted opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in another tragic love story, 1996’s Romeo + Juliet. “It seemed redundant,” Danes explained.

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