Actor Michelle Williams (L) dances on the red carpet with her fiance Heath Ledger
Actor Michelle Williams (L) dances on the red carpet with her fiance Heath Ledger (R), nominated as best actor for the film "Brokeback Mountain" at the 78th annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California March 5, 2006. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

Michelle Williams has secretly married American indie musician Phil Elverum earlier this month, and the father of her former boyfriend couldn’t be more thrilled. Heath Ledger’s father, Kim, has remained close to Williams even after the Australian actor’s death in 2008.

In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, the 37-year-old four-time Academy Award nominee has revealed that she has married Elverum in an intimate ceremony in New York. Williams is notoriously private, and she had debated with herself if she should reveal to the magazine that she has found a new love.

“Obviously, I’ve never once in my life talked about a relationship,” she told the magazine. “But Phil isn’t anyone else. And that’s worth something.”

She continued, “Ultimately, the way he loves me is the way I want to live my life on the whole. I work to be free inside of the moment. I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself, and I am finally loved by someone who makes me feel free.”

Matilda is her 12-year-old daughter with Ledger. Like her, Elverum also has a daughter, 3-year-old Agathe, from his first marriage. His first wife, Canadian musician Genevieve Castree, died of pancreatic cancer. They were married for 13 years before her death.

Kim did not attend Williams and Elverum’s wedding, and he hasn’t even met the groom yet. But he said he was glad that Williams found love again.

The family of Heath Ledger, mother Sally Bell (L), father Kim Ledger and sister Kate Ledger
The family of Heath Ledger, mother Sally Bell (L), father Kim Ledger and sister Kate Ledger, pose with the Oscar for best supporting actor for "The Dark Knight" backstage at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 22, 2009. Reuters/Mike Blake

“We are terribly happy, it is great,” he told The Goss. He added he would love to meet her new husband soon.

Kim, who has remained close to Williams for the sake of his granddaughter, didn’t want to say more because he knew how Williams valued her privacy.

“She’s very private and I don’t really want to make too many comments about her, but we are very happy [for her],” he added.

Williams also talked about the disparity of her pay and her co-star Mark Wahlberg’s for the reshoots of the film “All the Money in the World.” Some of their scenes with Kevin Spacey were reshot with Christopher Plummer taking over Spacey’s roles after the former’s sexual harassment and assault allegations were made public. Williams received only US$80 (AU$108) per diem, which totalled to more or less US$1,000 (AU$1,352) for all reshoots. Wahlberg, on the other hand, was paid US$1.5 million (AU$2.03 million).

Williams and Ledger met and fell in love on the set of “Brokeback Mountain.” They dated for three years before they split in 2007. He died in January 2008 from prescription drugs overdose.

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