Antonio Banderas Still Sees His Ex Yet Hasn’t Married Longtime Partner Who ‘Saved’ Him When Death Came Near

• “She is probably one of my best friends, if not the best friend that I have,” Antonio Banderas has said of Melanie Griffith.
• Antonio met his girlfriend Nicole Kimpel’s identical twin sister first.
• Nicole’s quick response in a crisis saved her boyfriend’s life.

For nearly two decades, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith illustrated what a loving relationship in Hollywood can look like. His name was inked in a heart on her arm. Now, they are a model of a modern blended family.

He first laid eyes on her in 1989 at the Academy Awards. With the “Working Girl” actress, the actor found home and family; she brought two children from previous relationships into their union. He nicknamed her “Rubia,” which means “blonde” in Spanish.

The pair got to know each other better while filming the romantic comedy “Two Much” in March 1995. At the time, they were still married to Don Johnson and Ana Leza, respectively, so they tried “to be respectful.”

After filming wrapped, they moved to end their marriages, and within a month of their mutual divorces being finalized, they got hitched. The couple said their ‘I dos’ in an intimate ceremony in London on May 14, 1996.

“I remember it was exhausting to have a social life in Hollywood. Once I met Melanie and I got married, we were home most of the time,” the actor reflected in 2019, “because I could understand her, and when we went out, it was a lot of work.”

He remembers their time as “very effervescent and really beautiful.” They welcomed their daughter Stella del Carmen Banderas Melanie on September 24, 1996.

Personal friends of the couple and the public were shocked when Melanie filed for divorce on June 6, 2014, due to “irreconcilable differences,” after 18 years of marriage. At an event, she was spotted with his name erased from her tattoo ten days later.

Their relationship was bookended with the post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “Autómata,” the only other film they starred in together. The divorce was finalized on December 4, 2015.

Melanie spent a lot of time at the house in Aspen, Colorado, which she got following the divorce. “Life is moving on,” she said at a party in July 2016. “It really has a way, for me being there, that is very spiritual and grounding, and sort of lets you think clearly.”

Meanwhile, the said in 2018, “Even if we are divorced, she is my family, and I will love her until the day I die. We have been in contact all these years, and we managed to do a separation that is very elegant.” The following year, he reiterated this stance to Vulture:

“I am not married with Melanie anymore, but she is my family. She is probably one of my best friends, if not the best friend that I have.”

Shortly after his divorce from Griffith was finalized, Banderas started to get to know Nicole Kimpel better. The two had met at a 2014 Cannes Film Festival party while he was still married.

He insists there was no overlap between his relationships, and Kimpel was not the reason for the divorce. She told him, “You’ve got to solve your problems first, then we’ll see.”

Ironically, he was initially chatting with her identical twin sister, Barbara, But it was Kimpel who made his heart skip “a beat” when he saw her for the first time. He instantly saw something that differentiated them, which he connected with.

Kimpel was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and her family settled in Geneva, Switzerland. She relocated to the United States after high school.

She has had multiple careers and business interests. As a financial expert, she worked for Merill Lynch and Lombard Odier, a private Swiss bank.

She started the fashion label, Baniki, with her sister, and the twins have worked on The Success Channel, a TV Network. They have a joint Instagram account promoting their blogs and modeling endeavors.

On a late-night show in November 2019, Banderas shared the incredible story about how Kimpel’s quick actions helped him survive a heart attack.

The night before the actor experienced a medical emergency, she had a headache and tracked down pain pills as they had none in the house. With the pharmacy closed, she found Asprin at a department store.

When her boyfriend was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack the following day, she placed one of the pills under his tongue. He mused:

“…that saved my life.”

She also nursed him when he contracted COVID-19 in 2020. The beautiful couple is outwardly very public with their relationship, sharing selfies on social media and walking the red carpets of significant industry events.

However, while there is no shortage of photos of the pair, they have successfully avoided discussing their future in the press. The actor has last deflected interest in him getting remarried in 2015.

Back in 2018, Griffith said she would not marry again, contemplating that the institution is not “relevant for anyone anymore.” And while her ex has not stated his views on remarriage on such strong terms, he looks to share the sentiment.

For Kimpel’s birthday in 2015, he threw her a lavish birthday dinner and gifted her a ring that she notably wore on her middle finger. When asked about possible wedding bells at an event not long after, he responded laughing:

“That’s enough about weddings!”

Later that year, he shot down more speculation, saying, “Between us, there is no more than what you can see now.” “The Mask of Zorro” actor continued:

“At the moment, we enjoy what we have, and there is no plan of a wedding or children. I just got out of 20 beautiful years, and I need this stability.”

Though he has not expanded his family with his new partner, the star has not neglected the children he has ― this includes his stepchildren with his second wife. He captioned a photo with Dakota Johnson, “My radiant Dakota,” at a Toronto event in 2019.

Banderas also uploaded a photo with Griffith and their daughter Stella on March 11, 2023. In the photo, the parents flank Stella over lunch at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel.