By Bertrand Bielle | Journalist
Curious by nature, Bertrand is always on the lookout for the slightest little scoop. Passionate about football, he is never far from football and all the news that comes from it. However, showbiz or political events are also part of his preferred journalistic research.
Catherine Marchal, who can be found this evening on “TF1” in the final episodes of “Brocéliande”, has been separated for almost ten years with Olivier Marchal, also an actor and director. But then why did she keep her name?
Catherine Marchal reveals why she kept the last name of her famous ex Olivier Marchal
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Like Anne Roumanoff, divorced from her former producer Philippe after 25 years of living together, Catherine Marchal – to be found this Monday evening on TF1 in Brocéliande – remained on good terms with her ex, who is none other than Olivier Marchal, notably known for having directed the French thriller 36 quai des Orfèvres, or created the television series Cops et Braquo. They get along so well that they decided not to divorce.
“We don’t have time to divorce, we’re lazy and it’s no use. It’s an administrative thing. That doesn’t change much. We’ve been separated for six years. Our separation is digested and everything is fine. We continue to be a parental couple, to work together, to get along well, to have a good laugh...”, explained the actress to Télé-Loisirs in 2021. Also adding this for Gala, the same year: “We go on vacation together, and, even more than before, we work together. Our children (Léa born in 1994, Zoé born in 1998, Ninon born in 2005 and Basile born in 2009, editor’s note) are raised by their two parents. Our relationship is unique.”
Olivier and Catherine Marchal imitated a legendary couple
A vision also shared by Olivier Marchal, who stated this in an interview: “Catherine and I have always maintained good understanding for the sake of our children.” As a reminder, it was in 2015 that they decided to leave each other, after 20 years of marriage. Note that this is not the only couple to have decided to avoid divorce, despite a separation. This was particularly the case of Françoise Hardy – who unfortunately died last June – and Jacques Dutronc.
Indeed, although they separated in 1991, the two artists never divorced, even though the singer started his life again with another woman: Sylvie Duval. Coming back to Catherine and Olivier Marchal, they don’t even want to talk about “separation”, this word not being “appropriate” according to the actress to describe their relationship: “Let’s say that our mode of operation has changed. But we have broken absolutely nothing of our family life, of our professional partnershipnor our friendship.”
