Amanda Peet Opens Up About Husband's Past with Her Famous Lookalike
In a candid revelation on the Armchair Expert podcast, actress Amanda Peet detailed a surprising chapter in her relationship with husband David Benioff, the co-creator of Game of Thrones. Peet disclosed that Benioff dated her celebrity doppelgänger, Lake Bell, during a nine-month hiatus from their own romance.
A Painful Discovery During a Difficult Time
Peet, now 54, explained the context of the breakup was mutual, driven by her strong desire to have a baby at age 31. "I wanted to have a baby so badly, I was 31," she said. "So I was really looking down the barrel of... it was rough. I find out, from through the grapevine, that he's dating her." The timing made the news particularly painful, as she was grappling with fertility pressures and the emotional toll of the separation.
The Unfortunate Restaurant Encounter
The situation escalated when friends took Peet out to dinner to cheer her up, only for it to backfire. "From across the bar, this dude just goes: 'Lake! Lake!' And I was like, 'This actually can't be happening,'" she recalled. This incident occurred within 24 hours of learning about Benioff and Bell's relationship, compounding her distress.
Peet did not name the patron who mistook her for Bell, only noting he was a fellow actor. She admitted her response might have been overly aggressive due to the sensitive timing, quipping, "I would pay so much money to see how I said it to him," after describing herself as the "jealous type."
Longstanding Comparisons and Mutual Respect
Peet and Bell have been repeatedly confused for each other on red carpets over the years, a phenomenon that inspired a scene in Peet's new movie, Fantasy Life, where she plays an out-of-work actor. Despite the past awkwardness, Peet had nothing but praise for Bell, calling her "beautiful."
Bell, 46, addressed the comparisons in a 2019 interview with The A.V. Club, even naming Peet as her choice to portray her in a biopic. "She's incredible," Bell said. "I feel like it's a huge compliment; she's a smokeshow and really talented, and she was here first. She was here first with the light eyes and the brown hair and the, you know, the features."
Current Lives and Relationships
Benioff and Peet have been married since 2006 and share three children, moving past this early relationship challenge. Meanwhile, Bell was married to tattoo artist Scott Campbell from 2013 to 2020, and they have two children together. Both actresses have maintained successful careers, with Bell starring in projects like Bless This Mess and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
This story highlights the complexities of celebrity relationships and the unexpected twists that can occur, even among Hollywood's elite.
