All Of Downton Abbey Star Michelle Dockery's Real-Life Loves Before Marriage

"Downton Abbey" star Michelle Dockery may be happily married, but like her character Lady Mary Crawley, she had real-life loves before marriage — like all the other Downton Abbey leading ladies and their real-life partners. The British actor's first public relationship was with American architect Trent Davies, whom she dated for three years before they called it quits in 2011. The split came as a shock, since it seemed like they were heading for marriage. At the time, a friend told The Sunday Mirror, "She really believed the relationship would go the distance ... But it wasn't to be."

A year later, Dockery dated actor Joseph Millson for five months, even taking him to the 2012 Emmy Awards. However, Dockery reportedly wasn't ready for another long-term relationship and left Millson heartbroken. He apparently took to X to share his feelings, writing (then deleting), "Stop wasting your time on the ones who don't deserve you." Perhaps Millson didn't have the traits that Dockery was looking for in a man, since she told Hello! Magazine in 2013 (via Film-News UK), "I like a certain sense of chivalry — I like a man who opens a door for me and pays for dinner." Dockery blamed "Downton Abbey" for that, as well as for liking smart, well-dressed men. She added, "I do believe in one true love. I hope to be married one day." In 2013, Dockery did find someone worth marrying. Sadly, they never made it down the aisle.

Before Michelle Dockery married her husband, Jasper Waller-Bridge, she was engaged to public relations executive John Dineen, who died before they could tie the knot. Dockery's "Downton Abbey" costar, Allen Leech, introduced her to Dineen in 2013, and they were later spotted canoodling at the Venice Film Festival. A year later, Dockery gushed (via People), "I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland." They got engaged in 2015, and sources told The Express at the time that "she looked over the moon" on the set of "Downton Abbey."

Sadly, a year after they got engaged, Dineen was diagnosed with cancer. Dockery later told The Guardian in 2017 that he wanted to keep his illness private, so she unexplainably pulled out of work commitments. "Work didn't matter ... that of course was my priority," she said. Despite his terminal prognosis, she said that she "never lost hope" that there could be a miracle. Dineen died in 2016, leaving Dockery devastated. "We were engaged, and married at heart, and so I do consider myself a widow," she said. In 2019, Dockery did find happiness again, with producer/talent manager Waller-Bridge, whom she married in 2023 — if the last name rings a bell, it's because Michelle Dockery's sister-in-law is also a British television icon. The couple later welcomed their first child in 2026. Months before the birth, Dockery, who was an over-40 pregnant celeb with great maternity style, revealed on Today in September 2025, "It's a new chapter. I'm very excited."