HARRY Potter star Jessie Cave has opened up on an “awful” two years with boyfriend Alfie Brown after the pair’s secret split.
The actress, 38, told of the “terrible” time, which also “massively affected” her own career and self-confidence in a lengthy Instagram message.
It came after actress, comedian, author, and cartoonist Jessie, best-known for her role as Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter franchise, launched a podcast with stand-up Alfie, also 38.
He began performing stand-up in 2006 and is known for his work at the Edinburgh Festival and Next Up Comedy series.
He is the son of composer Steve Brown and impressionist Jan Ravens who was “cancelled” in 2023 after old footage showing him using a racist slur in 2015 emerged.
The performer has since apologised.
Now Jessie – who revealed their previous secret split earlier this year – has let slip the detail of their rough time period on social media.
She uploaded an image of their son watching Alfie’s stage show on the TV followed by various snaps showing her man doing his day job.
Yet her emotional caption revealed the reality and she put: “My boyfriend was what is/was called ‘cancelled’ in 2023 on the day our youngest son Becker turned one.
“It was the beginning of a terrible year, two years, actually longer…. I won’t make this about me and tell you how AWFUL it has been to watch the person you love most in the world go through so much pain, public shaming and humiliation – or even how it has massively affected my career and self-confidence too – because he has just put his comedy special about it the whole thing out on YouTube, and it’s getting a brilliant and entirely well deserved response… though it’s not been easy at all to get it out there.
“I’ve watched him hide away and overthink, lose himself. I watched him do Edinburgh shows in tears at midnight, as he first worked the show out, a few months after everything disintegrated.
“I’ve watched his whole life change in the last three years, losing not only his career but with the shocking deaths of his great friend and director Adam Brace and his wonderful dad Steve Brown… two of the most vital and supportive people to him.
“I’ve watched as people we thought we could trust betray him. I’ve watched as the theatre we used to love and who we both worked with for over a decade cover up posters of him and act like cowards.
“I’ve stood by him for it all as I will stand by him forever.
“But I think the saddest thing of all is that I’ve watched him shy away from gigs when it used to be that being onstage was the most natural thing in the world to him.
“I tried to pick photos from during that time for this post but they were all too bleak. But I like the ones I’ve chosen as he looks so uncertain and scared, yet determined to find a way forwards onstage, telling jokes.”
In a brighter note, with Alfie’s The Last Cancelled Comedian show now available for free on YouTube, she added: “Everything is much better now.
“He’s back onstage again, we are close to happy (if you listen to our podcast you might know what I mean).
“I find the show very hard to watch, though I’ve seen it over 10 times. I think it’s incredible and I would love people to watch it.
“Thank you if you already have. I love you Alfie.”
LOVE STORY
In 2012, Alfie and Jessie first crossed paths at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they were both performing stand-up.
Two years later, the two were set up on a date through a mutual friend.
They went home together but didn’t see each other again – until four months later when Jessie discovered she was pregnant with his child.
They welcomed their son, Donnie, in October 2014, followed by their daughter 2 years later.
SPLIT SHOCK
In 2018 the couple went through a complicated breakup – as recently revealed on their brand new podcast Before We Break Up Again (BWBUA)
In February, on the show’s release, the hosts jokingly declared that it will run “from now until we break up again.”
Speaking with The Sunday Times, Jessie revealed that she’s not sure if the pair “will remain a couple for ever”.
In October 2020, they had a second son, and by December 2021, they announced they were expecting their fourth child.