WCW: Middle Age, Richard Armitage, & Romance, February 03, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #869)

***facetious alert***

Seeing Michelle Forbes’ tweet last weekend [right] –wherein she praises her “Berlin Station” (EPIX , 2016) costar the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage —made me give a little inner cheer for all of us middle aged gals.

Well, perhaps I should rephrase that—the middle aged part.  I’m only middle aged if I live to be 112. And if you do the math, that makes me about 12 years older than Richard Armitage who is a smoulderingly handsome 44.5 years.  Technically, he is middle aged, too.  But as usual, Richard Armitage looks younger than his years.  My hubby tells me I do, too.  But then he’s just using good husband diplomacy.

But I don’t feel older than maybe 35.  Thirty five is a nice age.  You’re past the early growing up years of angst and awkward social forays and have settled into a personal and professional space that you can be content with for now and start enjoying life—because it is all ahead of you.  My hubby lets me celebrate the anniversary of my 35^th birthday—dear man.  So this year my celebrations will  reach their age of majority—and could vote and drink.

Aw heck!  Give me that Middle Earth longevity cocktail!   I’m up for it!   Why?  Because a certain 197 year old Dwarven King Thorin Oakenshield [in collage below left by Cyn@Dainty] portrayed by Richard Armitage, aged very well in The Hobbit film trilogy.  And my favorite longer haired look on Richard Armitage from 2013’s Desolation of Smaug Berlin Premiere [below right from Pinterest].  *THUD*

      

And Berlin, Germany is where Richard Armitage is currently filming his 10 part tv series, “Berlin Station”.  So here’s hoping for some errant bang lock “Berlin Station” action on the part of Richard Armitage’s character of Daniel Meyer , Miller—or whatever they have decided to call his character.

But that got me to thinking about age and relationships—especially returning to the topic of the handsome 44.5 year old Richard Armitage and the beautiful 51 year old Michelle Forbes possibly being in a relationship.  I know, I’m wildly speculating here with no basis in anything substantive.  But that’s part of the fun.

Exhibit A:  The tweet:  “This man = Heaven. Full Stop.”  I quite agree, from a fan perspective—as an admirer of Richard Armitage’s body of work, and … such.  But perhaps Ms. Forbes has a more personal basis upon which to make that heavenly assessment of her costar.  Heaven can be considered a place, or a state of being—it is the latter definition that I perceive she is employing.  And just what emotional state could affect such heavenly ruminations? Supreme contentment?  Joy?  Love?  Etc.?  Or, all of the above? Cyn Dainty has shared her interpretation of Ms. Forbes meaning of heaven in relation to Richard Armitage in a wallpaper at right.

Exhibit B:  The photo image in the tweet, though blurry, clearly shows two gorgeous adults in a very happy state as evidenced by  their beaming smiles.  They are also not only sitting (one presumes) side by side, but they are practically joined at the hip.  Lucky girl!  I have some experience of this non-verbal behavior from the dating period of my and my hubby’s relationship.  After we had become engaged—and then some—we were inseparable physically.  We always had to be touching each other in an embrace of some sort. Even if we sat in two chairs—unlike a booth that might be the case here—we sat so close together that if I moved a few inches I would be sitting in his lap.  Our friends teasingly remarked upon our closeness by saying Get a room with big grins on their faces.

Exhibit C:  In the tweet picture [right again], Richard Armitage has slightly swerved his head and face behind Michelle Forbes’s head, as if to shyly hide his cheeks flushed with  … something.  With Richard Armitage’s famously discreet–no revelations about his private love life to the press–him trying to hide behind her head almost seems to suggest that their relationship is private, and romantic.  And though, he might have thought that the selfie that she was taking was just for them, then why try to hide?  So he must have had an inkling that she might share their selfie on social media.  Of course, he could have just been going in for a neck nuzzle.  But he would have had to move her hair out of the way—and his hands and arms are not in frame.  So either way—trying to keep private his relationship or going in for nuzzle—suggests to me that Michelle and Richard are a romantic couple.  And below is a lovely video by colinfever with examples of a Richard Armitage characters in full on passionate romance mode.   Just think what Richard Armitage is like in a real life romance!   Sighhhh!

Exhibit D:  Michelle and Richard are wearing similarly dark colored clothing—both are wearing dark/black coats/jackets.  In my experience, romantic couples tend to gravitate to some similar clothing colors early in the relationship.  Though my hubby tends to stick with a blue color palette, I have morphed away from blue to wearing more flattering to my skin color pinks, purples, and peach.  And Richard’s high color mock turtle neck olive drab green is similar to Michelle’s scarf covering her up to her neck.  I concede, the high collars could be for warmth.  And at least Richard isn’t doubling up his layers by wearing a bulky sweater under a two small tweed jacket as in the picture below. But Kudos to Richard Armitage being named in the top 13 of Glamour’s Sexiest Men of 2016 list.

I concur—about Richard Armitage being the sexiest man—no matter who the other 12 men are above him in the rankings.  Sighhh!  Except, of course, my hubby is my in situ corporeal sexiest man.  *wink*

And maybe if GlamourUK had used an earlier Richard Armitage portrait—or even an image from their competitor EsquireUK’s December 2013 Richard Armitage in tuxedos spread–maybe Glamour might have listed him a tad higher.  Below is the Esquire UK video that is sure to clinch RA’s sexiest status at some point.

But getting back to Michelle Forbes and Richard Armitage, a 6 year age difference is not exactly cougar territory for her.  If forty is the new thirty, then 51 is the new 41.  She is gorgeous in the pictures below from ouchpress!  And hurrah for brunettes everywhere!

                               
Natural beauty               Sultry Siren

Fun gal

Richard Armitage working–and whatever else with Michelle Forbes–is a lucky man.  And she obviously feels lucky, too!  To that I say, You go girl!  You’re living the dream! 

And all of us middle aged folks—me and my hubby, and Michelle and Richard, etc.–are enjoying more of life these days.  Besides, technology is bound to advance in the next two hundred years to slow down or even to reverse aging for those of us who have gotten on the Middle Earth longevity band wagon.  Such that I can finally look as old as I feel—35.  Then again, maybe that will be 35 in dog years at that point.  Ha!

 

Nota Bene:  The previously wholly off the top of my head, unsubstantiated, so don’t start any rumors, wild speculation on my part was just for a giggle or two.  Besides, two gorgeous people can be working colleagues who respect each others’ work and value each other as friendly acquaintances and/or friends without necessarily  becoming a romantic couple.  *gazing at that selfie tweet again* Uh huh.   *wink*