“America Is a Shitshow”: Robin Wright Explains Why She Moved to England

Robin Wright says leaving the United States for life on the English coast has been nothing short of liberating.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 59-year-old actress revealed that she and her boyfriend, architect Henry Smith, are renting a seaside home in England. “It’s liberating to be done,” Wright said, explaining that she was tired of “searching, looking and getting 60 percent of what you wanted.”

The House of Cards star, who grew up in California, was candid about her disillusionment with life in the U.S.

“America is a shitshow,” she admitted, contrasting it with what she’s found in the U.K.

“There’s a freedom of self here. People are so kind. They’re living. They’re not in the car in traffic, panicked on a phone call, eating a sandwich. That’s most of America. Everything’s rush, competition and speed.”

Part of her decision, she noted, was driven by the constant noise of Los Angeles.

“Everyone’s building a huge house, and I’m just done with all that. I love the quiet. And I’ve met my person. Finally.”

Wright recalled meeting Smith, 52, in a pub.

After asking a stranger if she could feed his dog, she was directed to Smith, who came over and grabbed her shoulders.

“He goes, ‘Who the f--- are you?’ And I said, ‘Who the f--- are you?’ And that was it.”

She now describes him as “a sweetheart and just a good, decent adult.”

The actress said her relationship has given her a sense of calm: “It’s so relaxing to be seen and loved for who I am. That’s exactly what I wanted.”

Approaching 60, she added: “I want to grow old with somebody, and travel and see the world.”

Wright was previously married to Sean Penn from 1996 to 2010, with whom she has two children, Dylan and Hopper.

She later married fashion executive Clement Giraudet in 2018, before filing for divorce in 2022. Her first marriage was to actor Dane Witherspoon in the 1980s.