Please note: this magazine is not renowned for the quality of its journalism
                                  
"Darcy Broke my Heart"
                                  
His brooding performance is taking the country (Australia) by storm, but for one woman, it's just a sad reminder of a lost love. 
                                   
As TV's proud but irresistible Mr. Darcy, he has every woman longing to fall into his arms, But for actress Meg Tilly, Pride and Prejudice hunk Colin Firth was the true love who slipped from her grasp. 

For six years, dashing Colin capitivated petite, almond-eyed Meg's heart and they shared an idyllic life in wilderness country where they produced an adored son. 

The couple seemed assured an ending as happy as that of the characters in the BBC production of Jane Austen's love story. but today, the 36 year old star of the The Big Chill can still barely bring herself to discuss how their blissful love affair fell apart two years ago, under the strain of conflicting career schedules." 

Since then "Colin has remained unattached and admits to friends he is still 'badly bruised' by the break-up..... 

When asked about Colin, who's enjoying huge acclaim as Darcy in the adaptation, Meg is polite but reserved. 'He's one of my best friends,' she says. 'We just couldn't make it work with him having to live in England for his career, and me here. There was too much separation.' 

But friends of Meg...says the golden Globe winner was 'crushed' when Colin quietly told her their relationship was over.  

Nowadays, Colin is an 'involved father' says Meg, who gave birth to their son, Will, five years ago. Colin is an infrequent visitor to her remote Vancouver home but she allows Will to visit his dad in England... 

Motherhood definitely agrees with Meg, who has two more children, Emily, 10, and David, 8 from her marriage to Tim Zinnemann....  

Meg and Colin met in 1989 on the set of Valmont, the acclaimed Milos Forman version of Dangerous Liaisons. Filmed in a romantic chateau in France and featuring several steamy bedroom scenes, Colin and Meg's film passion soon caught fire off-screen too. 

Colin was attracted to her because Meg has a characteristic uncommon in most actresses - she dislikes talking about herself and is a good listener. 

 When she met Colin, Meg was divorced from Tim Zinnemann and splitting her time between a Brentwood home and a country retreat in her native Canada. Colin joined her and settled down to domestic bliss. 

When baby Will arrived, friends expected a marriage but Meg...explains sadly. 'For a marriage to work, it requires commitment and a lot of work.' 

....Meg's house in the woods in British Columbia doesn't even have a television. It was this modest lifestyle that attracted Colin, who is known for his love of privacy. 

 'If you meet people who have been successful in Hollywood, or look at their photographs, you see a haunted look in their eyes, you sense a trapped feeling,' he says. 

It is the reluctance to leave her remote forest cabin however, that may have finally exhausted Colin. According to one friend. 'It was just too difficult for  them to be together. Colin has always wanted to live in England. He feels at home there and Meg understood his work was there. For a long time they worked hard at seeing each other, but everyone has their limits and Colin reached his." 

 Woman's Day, April 1, 1996 p12-13  
                                   
  © Copyright of Women's Day 1996