Hollywood has a funny way of making life imitate art. If you’ve been scrolling through celebrity news lately, you’ve probably seen the name "The Other Woman" popping up alongside Natalie Portman. But here’s the thing: it’s not just about one thing. People are usually talking about her underrated 2009 indie drama or the heartbreaking headlines surrounding the end of her 11-year marriage to Benjamin Millepied.
Honestly, the overlap is kind of eerie. In the movie, she plays a woman dealing with the fallout of an affair and a "home-wrecker" label. In real life, she recently finalized a divorce after her husband was linked to someone else. It’s a lot to untangle.
What Really Happens in The Other Woman Natalie Portman Movie?
Let’s get the film facts straight first. The Other Woman, which was originally titled Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, stars Portman as Emilia Greenleaf. She’s a Harvard-educated lawyer who does the unthinkable in the eyes of Upper East Side society: she has an affair with her boss, Jack (Scott Cohen), and eventually marries him after he leaves his wife.
The movie doesn’t give her a free pass. It’s gritty. It’s uncomfortable. Emilia isn't exactly "likable" in the traditional sense, and that’s what makes the performance so good. She’s grieving the loss of her infant daughter while trying to raise a stepson who basically hates her.
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The Plot Points That Sting
- The "Home-Wrecker" Reality: Emilia is shunned by other moms at school. She’s the literal "other woman" who became the wife, and the movie shows the social isolation that follows.
- The Ex-Wife Factor: Lisa Kudrow plays the "scorned" ex-wife, Dr. Carolyn Soule. She isn't just a villain; she’s a woman whose life was blown up, and she makes sure Emilia knows it.
- The Tragic Twist: The story centers on the death of Emilia’s newborn, Isabel, from SIDS. This grief is the lens through which we see her struggle to be a stepmother to Jack’s son, William.
The film was actually sitting on a shelf for a while. It didn't hit theaters until 2011, right after Portman won her Oscar for Black Swan. Most critics at the time thought it was "Lifetime movie" material, but if you watch it now, Portman’s acting is top-tier. She captures that specific brand of "smart person making terrible choices" perfectly.
Life Imitating Art: The Benjamin Millepied Divorce
Fast forward to 2023. The internet went into a frenzy when reports surfaced that Benjamin Millepied, Portman’s husband, had an affair with a 25-year-old climate activist named Camille Étienne.
This hit hard for fans. Natalie and Benjamin were the "it" couple of the high-brow art world. They met on the set of Black Swan in 2009—coincidentally the same year she filmed The Other Woman. He was the choreographer; she was the star. It was a fairy tale until it wasn't.
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The Timeline of the Split
- June 2023: Reports of Benjamin's "short-lived" affair break.
- August 2023: Natalie is spotted in Sydney without her wedding ring. This was the big "it's over" signal.
- February 2024: The divorce is finalized quietly in France.
Portman is famously private. She didn't go on a "revenge tour" or post cryptic TikToks. She just moved to Paris with her two kids, Aleph and Amalia, and kept working. But the irony of her most famous "infidelity" movie being titled The Other Woman was not lost on the public. It’s like the universe has a dark sense of humor.
Why Does This Story Still Rank on Google?
You might wonder why a movie from 2009 is trending in 2026. It's because of the nuance. Most movies about affairs are black and white—one person is good, one is bad. The Other Woman Natalie Portman version is gray.
Emilia is a victim of her own choices. She’s a daughter who hated her father for cheating, only to become the person she despised. That kind of psychological complexity is rare. Plus, the movie explores "maternal ambivalence," a term coined by the book's author, Ayelet Waldman. It’s the idea that you can love a child and still feel completely trapped or unqualified to be a mother.
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Real-World Takeaways
- Grief isn't linear. The movie shows how loss can make you a "jerk" to the people you're supposed to love.
- Blended families are hard. There’s no "Stepmom" (1998) magic here. It’s awkward and painful.
- Privacy is a power move. Looking at how Natalie handled her real-life divorce, there's a lesson in not letting the public narrate your trauma.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going to watch the film, look for the scenes between Natalie and Charlie Tahan (who plays the stepson, William). They have this weird, peer-to-peer relationship that feels more honest than most kid-adult dynamics in Hollywood.
The movie is currently available on various streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Apple TV (depending on your region). It’s worth the 100 minutes if you want to see Portman before she was a Marvel star, playing someone who is raw, flawed, and deeply human.
What you should do next: If you're going through a tough transition or navigating a blended family, skip the fluff. Watch The Other Woman for a realistic (if dark) look at how to rebuild when you're the one who broke things. Or, if you're just here for the gossip, follow Natalie's lead: stay private, keep your head up, and let the work speak for itself.