Talulah Riley says she ‘understands it looks strange’ that she married Elon Musk twice

Talulah Riley, the author and actor who was married to Tesla billionaire Elon Musk twice, has reflected on their relationship.

Riley, whose new dystopian novel The Quickening is out now, was married to Musk twice – first from 2010 to 2012 and a second time from 2013 to 2016.

In an interview with The Independent, Riley said of the pair’s decision to remarry: “Obviously I understand it looks strange. But that logic made sense at the time.”

She added: “I suppose the reason to get remarried was just because it felt silly to be together unmarried after having been married. You know, it’s like a habit. We were saying, ‘This is my husband.’ ‘This is my wife.’ ‘Oh, wait, no, we’re not that anymore. We better be that again.’”

Riley – who is now dating her Pistol co-star Thomas Brodie-Sangster – said she shares a “very deep love and connection” with Musk, adding: “He’s a great friend. He looks out for me. We are in a happy place now, where we’re good to each other, which is really nice. I have the utmost love for him.”

The actor, who has starred in St Trinian’s, the 2007 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and Westworld, said she took a career break to care for Musk’s five children from his first marriage to Justine Musk.

“It wasn’t really a traditional housewife role,” she said. “I mean, there were the rockets and the cars, and there were things blowing up… there was a lot going on – a lot that was very stimulating.

“We [she and Musk’s kids] were very involved in what was going on. It was a group effort. A family-wide effort.”

Praising her former husband, she continued: “Elon was great. He had me alongside for all of that. So it wasn’t like I was stuck in a mansion in Bel Air like a trophy wife, which would not have been fun. I did, of course, witness that for others. But luckily, that was not my fate.”