Maria Bello Is 'Engaged in Solitude' as She and Fiancée Live in Separate Cities During Quarantine
Maria Bello is learning how to be engaged while separated from her fiancée amid the novel coronavirus.
The actress, 52, shared a heartfelt video on her Instagram account on Monday in which she told her fans she was living in Los Angeles and apart from her fiancée, chef Dominique Crenn.
“Engaged in solitude,” Bello begins in the video. “OK so Dom and I just got engaged, December 29, very romantic, in Paris. And we live in different cities, OK? She lives in San Francisco, I live in LA. We thought we were totally good with that because I’m the sort of person that needs to have my time and space. I’m an introvert, I need to go in and connect. Same with Dom.”
Bello said she “thought we were totally good without” until “suddenly COVID-19 hits.”
“We were like, ‘Oh s— we live in different cities, how does this work?’ So, we’re navigating that,” Bello explained, adding, “What does engaged mean? We’re getting to know each other thinking one day we’ll get married. Maybe this is the test period, I don’t know.”
The actress continued, “But then COVID comes. Who’s dealing with that? Who’s dealing being engaged with someone who you’re crazy in love with and they’re crazy in love with you and yet you gotta navigate this s—. See what I’m saying?”
She then turned to those watching for advice, saying, “Anyone has any answers let me know, I’d love to hear.”
In February, Bello revealed she and Crenn, a celebrated French chef, were engaged while at Elton John’s annual Oscar party.
Later that month, Bello told PEOPLE that Crenn, 55, had been diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after they “fell in love.”
RELATED: Maria Bello and Fiancée Dominique Crenn’s Powerful Love Story: How Cancer Brought Them Closer
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images Maria Bello and Dominique Crenn
“It’s been quite a year,” the former Coyote Ugly actress said.
Crenn said she tried to warn Bello of what her cancer would mean for their relationship.
“She’s like, ‘I’m here and I’m going to be here for all the time during the time of this’ and she’s been by my side,’” Crenn told PEOPLE in February. “She’s been there for us.”
Bello added, “Listen, I just knew. I just knew and so did she. I’ve never smiled as much as I have this last year.”
RELATED: Maria Bello Reveals She’s Engaged to Chef Girlfriend Dominique Crenn: ‘I’ve Finally Grown Up’
She continued, “You really learn how someone rolls when they’re sick. And I loved the way she rolls through life and dances through life even when she’s really sick.”
Crenn is a celebrated French chef and the only female chef in America to earn three Michelin stars for her restaurant in San Francisco, Atelier Crenn.
Bello shares a son with her screenwriter ex-boyfriend Dan McDermott and was previously in a relationship with film producer Clare Munn. She revealed their relationship in 2013 and later published a book titled Whatever…Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves.
