One insider tellsthat the high-profile pair, who got together in December 2013, decided that their romance was over following their most recent jaunt to the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France. The source tells that Theron, 39, was the one to break things off with the fellow Oscar winner.
Theron and Penn, 54, had known each other for decades before their friendship blossomed into romance. A year into their relationship, Usexclusively reported in December 2014 that they had gotten secretly engaged during a trip to Paris. There was, however, no elaborate proposal. "There's no ring, but they are committed," an insider told at the time.
In a memorable interview with Esquire UKthis past March, Penn said he was ready to be a husband after his previous failed marriages. The actor was famously married to Madonnafrom 1985 to 1989, followed by House of Cards actress Robin Wrightfrom 1996 to 2010; he and Wright share two grown kids, Dylanand Hopper. Meanwhile, the South African beauty's exes include Craig BierkoandStuart Townsend.
"You say I've been married twice before, but I’ve been married under circumstances where I was less informed than I am today," Penn speculated of his future with Theron. "So I wouldn’t even consider it a third marriage, I’d consider it a first marriage on its own terms if I
got married again. I mean, I like the tradition. A friend of mine wrote a line, 'Without tradition, new things die.' And I don’t want new things
to die."
He added in the same interview that he was "surprised to be in love" with Theron for many reasons. "I’m self-proclaimed bad at mathematics but I can do two plus two," he explained. "53 years old plus finally beginning to figure out why you haven’t been happy in a single relationship? It could seem too late. But to run into somebody now who you care about is a much more passionate, deeper, truer and – God! – a much happier feeling. It’s a lot more romantic and a lot more fulfilling to be in a relationship and to think you’re a good person within it."
Theron echoed his sentiments in subsequent interviews, including one with Esquire this past April, in which she confessed that she was "shocked" to have fallen for Penn. "I'm a very, very, very lucky girl," she told the mag. "Very lucky. He's hot."
The Mad Max: Fury Road star noted to Elle UK in its June 2015 issue that Penn was it. "Putting aside that he's my partner, he's the love of my life," the mom to little Jackson told the publication. "For the first time, I felt that my work was really bleeding into my life and that made it hard."
