Winslet then moved on with Sam, whom she wed in 2003. Their meeting wasn't by chance, but rather it happened when Mendes had hoped to cast her in two plays he was directing at London's Donmar Warehouse theater, though she had no intention of taking on the roles. "Didn't want to do the plays, definitely wanted to get his phone number," she told Vanity Fair in November 2008. The two welcomed their son, Joe Mendes, in 2003, but announced their split in 2010. Their divorce was finalized in 2011.
In the same Parade interview, Winslet gushed over her immediate connection with Sam. "I walked away dazzled, thinking, 'What the hell was that?' I knew this was the person I was meant to be with," she shared. "I was terrified. I didn't tell anyone I had this feeling, not even my mum. I had no idea if Sam felt anything for me."
Winlset also spoke about how the media coverage surrounding her two divorces was brutal, but it wasn't the worst thing that had happened to her: "It was shattering, but it was nothing compared to losing Stephen."
