At 30, TALULAH RILEY has made her name in Hollywood and married and divorced a Silicon Valley billionaire – twice. Now she has written a novel about a beautiful Englishwoman’s tricky relationship with a mega-rich entrepreneur, but she insists it’s not based on her own life…





It’s a storyline that even the hammiest of soaps might reject as being a bit much: beautiful English actress meets eccentric, older Silicon Valley billionaire whose business interests include space launches. He chats her up by offering to show her his rockets (‘I was sceptical, but he actually did show me rocket videos,’ she says). Within weeks they are engaged, they marry in 2010 and she becomes stepmother to his five children. Then they divorce in 2012, remarry one year later…and now they’re divorcing again.

Talulah Riley, 30, star of St Trinian’s and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film, has flown to London from Los Angeles to talk about her new career as a romantic novelist over lunch. But her real-life romance with Elon Musk, the 45-year-old co-founder of PayPal and Tesla electric cars and entrepreneur behind SpaceX rockets, is more fascinating than fiction. Despite filing for divorce number two in March, she seems to be wavering. Would she consider marrying him a third time?

‘I mean, never say never,’ she says in a tiny, girlish voice. ‘Marriage is a social construct, but I still believe in it. Elon and I are best friends. We still see each other all the time and take care of each other. If this could continue indefinitely it would be lovely. When you’ve been with someone for eight years on and off, you really learn how to love them. He and I are very good at loving each other…’ she tails off, her voice almost inaudible, and concentrates on moving broccoli around on her plate.

Talulah wears DRESS, Peggy Hartanto. EARRINGS, Tracey Emin for Stephen Webster

When Talulah describes herself as shy and ‘a classic introvert’, she is not kidding. She squirms in her chair, her voice rarely rises above a whisper and she’s not big on eye contact. Straightforward questions are greeted with a bemused frown and a request for clarification: ‘What were you like growing up?’ ‘In what sense?’

She may not want to tell a stranger about her private life, but, then again, she is here to promote her debut novel Acts of Love, which is about…a beautiful Englishwoman who has a tricky relationship with a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

Elon and I are best friends. We still see each other all the time

Yet Talulah downplays any parallels with her own life. ‘[The protagonist] Bernadette is a journalist who uses wiles to exploit the men she interviews. She has a damning view of the opposite sex but meets someone who challenges her assumptions,’ Talulah explains.

‘The starting point was that many romantic heroes, from Mr Rochester to Christian Grey, have misogynistic tendencies. How would people react to a female character who was equally “bad” – sexually manipulative, conniving and so on? Would she still be a romantic and attractive character?’

Bernadette spends much of the book attempting to seduce her colleague Tim, whom she is convinced is the one – the fact that he has just announced his engagement to another woman only serves to spur her on in her unsisterly quest.

Meanwhile, Radley Blake, a wealthy tech entrepreneur, has the hots for her… It’s a fun page-turner, albeit with a serious point about how ‘we strive to control our own destiny, yet still crave a happy ever after’.

JUMPER, James Lakeland. TROUSERS, Solace London. EARRINGS and NECKLACE, Tracey Emin for Stephen Webster. RINGS, Shaun Leane

Talulah is adamant that the story is unrelated to her life – ‘I don’t consider writing the book as therapy’ – and that Elon was not the inspiration for Radley: ‘He’s entirely out of my own head.’ How much of her is there in Bernadette? ‘Hopefully not too much. I don’t condone her behaviour. Although her longing to be better and not reaching those standards – I can relate to that.’

That fact that Bernadette is judged on her ‘arresting, hyper-feminine’ looks is, Talulah concedes, based on personal experience. ‘I can relate to her dislike of being objectified and misunderstood due to her appearance,’ she says. There is no escaping the fact that Talulah is gorgeous: her face is all wide eyes and pillowy lips.

I wonder if she’s afraid of not being taken seriously because of it. She emphasises her literary leanings – ‘I have an existential crisis every time I walk into a bookshop, knowing that I’m not going to read all the books before I die’ – decrees her dream dinner-party guest to be philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, and unwinds by playing Scrabble, not the go-to hobby for most 30-year-olds.

Talulah had a privileged childhood in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, as the cherished only child of a senior policeman (now a TV crime series scriptwriter) and a security consultant.

An academic girl, she attended Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in Elstree and Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Her parents encouraged her to pursue a range of extracurricular activities: as well as buying her a pony, they enrolled her in Saturday morning acting classes at London’s Sylvia Young Theatre School.

DRESS, Tata Naka. SHOES, Bionda Castana. EARRINGS, Delfina Delettrez. RINGS, To The Nine, Monica Vinader and Delfina Delettrez

In her late teens and early 20s, Talulah began winning parts in TV series such as Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Poirot. Her breakout role was playing Mary Bennet in the 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice opposite Keira Knightley as Elizabeth. Bigger turns in the St Trinian’s movies and The Boat That Rocked followed.

Why would someone so shy subject herself to the public gaze? ‘I didn’t intend to be an actress,’ she says. ‘It was one of many things I was interested in, and it just took off. I was an actress between the ages of 18 and 22, and it was a wonderful, fun thing to do, but it wasn’t what I intended long term. I parked acting a long time ago.’

Aged 22, Talulah’s life spun off in an entirely different direction when she met Elon in a London nightclub. Her curiosity was piqued by this ‘incredibly magnetic, wonderfully smart, funny, unusual man. I didn’t have internet access as I’d just moved into a flat so I called my daddy, told him I met someone and he looked him up on the internet for me.’

Top for Talulah Reading A Second World War-set novel, Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. Both the writing and characterisation are stunning. Breakfast choice I get cross because breakfast foods are so limited. I can stomach anything – I’ll even eat sushi first thing. Style icon Dana Scully [Gillian Anderson] from The X-Files. She’s beautiful. Last film you watched? Romancing the Stone. It’s a fun childhood favourite. Guilty pleasure I’m not a big believer in guilt, but I overindulge in chocolate – milk never dark. I miss Cadbury’s. Dream dinner party guests Fred Astaire, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Doris Day. You fritter money on… Books – I’m addicted to Amazon. Perfect Sunday morning Sleeping in until I get hungry, which is around lunchtime. Most treasured possessions A copy of Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott that I’ve had my whole life, and my border collie Timmy. Fashion favourites Stella McCartney for her ethical stance, especially her bags – it’s hard to find vegan bags that look nice. And Topshop for its excellent variety. Favourite TV show Silicon Valley – I watch it after work with my roommate. It’s a great caricature of how we live and work. Advertisement

Still a virgin when they met, within weeks Talulah moved to LA to live with Musk and his five young sons (twins and triplets) from his previous marriage to Canadian fantasy author Justine Musk. She won’t elaborate on what her parents must have made of it all, but they ended up following her and relocating to LA. ‘It wasn’t a discussion [about them moving], it was just assumed. We’re really close,’ she says. ‘I’m dependent on my parents. I don’t like to be away from them.’

There’s something very childlike about Talulah, from her reliance on her parents to her fragile, Bambi-like demeanour, to her apparent naivety about how divorce proceedings work (‘I think it takes a while to finalise. There’s some legal process…’ she says vaguely).

She describes herself as ‘very romantic’ and having ‘a habit of getting lost in a world of ideals’. A lifelong teetotaller, she has only tried alcohol once: ‘I picked up the wrong drink – I thought it was my Diet Coke, but it had vodka in and I went [mimes retching], “Wooah.”

‘I can see that alcohol is a social lubricant and that would be helpful to me in some situations, but the advantages don’t outweigh the disadvantages.’ Does she feel pressured to drink? ‘People have tried, but I don’t really feel peer pressure. It’s about working out your own moral code and philosophy. Just because something is the done thing, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing. If you’ve reached a different conclusion, don’t be afraid of that.’

She reveals little about her time with Elon, but it appears they lived the kind of extraordinary life you would expect with someone worth an estimated $12 billion: whizzing around in his private jet, holding lavish parties, attending Obama’s inauguration (front row, naturally) and a romantic zero-gravity flight over California, with Titanic director James Cameron playing gooseberry. ‘I’ve had lots of fun experiences. It’s just been, you know, life,’ she shrugs. ‘It’s been my 20s.’

How much sadness is there around the second divorce? ‘I think it’s the right decision. Presumably with all divorces there is [sadness]. But on balance we’re both really happy.’ Of her stepchildren she says: ‘I love them very much – I’ve spent the past eight years raising them.’

Elon’s ex-wife Justine has described how, while dancing together at their wedding reception, he told her, ‘I am the alpha in this marriage.’ Given his extraordinary power, wealth and the fact he’s 14 years Talulah’s senior, you might guess that this has been the case with her, too. Talulah bristles and for the first time fixes me with a stare. ‘Alpha is a phrase that gets bandied about in America but it’s not something I really thought about before I moved there. I wouldn’t apply it to Elon or myself, I think it’s a silly word.’

She’s far more forthcoming about her current job as co-founder of Forrge, an app launched earlier this year that allows low-paid retail and restaurant staff in the US (similar to zero-hour contracts in the UK) to schedule their own working hours. Businesses post shifts and workers sign up for their choice of hours at companies they are approved to work for.

Talulah with her on-off husband Elon Musk

‘There are vast numbers of people doing these jobs who don’t know one week to the next how many hours they’re going to be working or what they’re going to earn, which makes it hard to schedule childcare or put food on the table. Hopefully we’re going to fix that,’ she enthuses.

Talulah works long hours in a small office in San Francisco, alongside co-founder Stacey Ferreira, a 23-year-old Silicon Valley rising star and Talulah’s housemate. The duo raised $1.5 million from investors to get their project off the ground.

‘I learned a lot about business and Silicon Valley from Elon and having a front-row seat for eight years, which was fantastic,’ says Talulah. But her role model is her mother: ‘She was an entrepreneur. She started a security company when I was a child and that was a big part of our lives. She had 20 or 30 employees when she sold it.’

Talulah’s passion for the socially conscious Forrge is impressive – she was awarded a reported $4.2 million after her first divorce (and presumably will receive more once the second is finalised), so could well afford to live the life of a socialite. What’s more, rare is the actress who would willingly swap the glitter of Hollywood to sit in front of a computer in an office. But for Talulah, it all comes back to her philosophy.

‘I believe in honesty and integrity, having a belief system that you’ve thought through and then stick to. I believe in being creative and contributing, and I believe in taking a stand against injustice that you encounter in everyday life and not being idle in that respect.’

Despite saying she has ‘parked’ her acting career, Talulah occasionally dips back into her previous life. Last year, before the launch of Forrge, she wrote, directed and acted in Scottish Mussel, a romantic comedy set in the Highlands, starring Martin Compston, aka DS Arnott from Line of Duty. At the moment she’s filming a role as a robot in the HBO TV remake of the cult 1973 sci-fi movie Westworld, squeezing in shooting on days off from the office.

SUIT, Hebe Studio. BODY, AQAQ. RING, Tracey Emin for Stephen Webster. EARRINGS, Shaun Leane. SHOES, Bionda Castana

She’s trying to find time to write her second novel, ‘a feminist political thriller’, while worrying about Forrge’s future: ‘Ninety nine per cent of start-ups don’t make it out of the gate. It’s our first year and it’s really tough.’ While she wrote Acts of Love over three years, she has not yet started on number two, which is due on 1 January next year. ‘It’s tricky with the day job,’ she explains.

As she springs up from her chair to make her escape, I’m struck that Talulah is as much an English eccentric as she is an English rose. Who else would willingly sideline a Hollywood career and reinvent herself as a tech entrepreneur? Who else would encourage their dad to Google their boyfriend? Who else would write a book that draws on her own life and yet is apparently in no way connected?

Certainly, no one could accuse Talulah Riley of being predictable. Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Riley’s romance

Bernadette quietly opened the door to the guest room and closed it behind her. She felt as though she were in a dream. She knew that Tim desired her. They had spent years exchanging arch emails and lingered for hours over business lunches. Throughout, she was always waiting, always expecting that one day, when he gathered the courage, he would declare his true feelings.

Tim had a gentleness and sensitivity that was missing in other men. He was non-threatening and gave the impression that he would do right in any situation. It was his goodness that Bernadette most admired. She just had to let him know that it was him she truly wanted.

She looked up as Tim entered the room. She had not had a chance to arrange herself over the bed, and instead of coming across as a seductive siren, she must have looked to Tim like a frightened girl, perched awkwardly, gazing at him with troubled eyes.

‘What’s wrong, Bernie?’ he asked kindly, keeping near the door. ‘Have you had too much to drink?’

She was briefly annoyed at his unromantic question, but fear got the better of her, and when she opened her mouth, she was unable to speak. Concerned, Tim sat next to her on the bed and hugged her. It was all the encouragement she needed, and she breathed in deeply, luxuriating in his clean, soapy smell.

‘Has something happened?’ he asked.

She pulled back to face him. ‘Yes,’ she whispered, tragically, ‘something has happened.’

‘What is it? You can tell me.’

‘I’m in love with you.’

It was as if a shock of electricity passed through him and he jolted back so suddenly the bed bounced beneath them, his expression half incredulous. She noticed the pain in his eyes and a cold fear gripped her. He wasn’t doing what the heroes in the romance novels did.

He gave a small, tense laugh. ‘You’re kidding, Bernie, right? Very funny.’ He was speaking politely, as though she were a stranger to him, but worse, he was moving away.

‘Don’t, Tim, please don’t. You know I’m not joking. I love you. I love you so much.’

His body slumped and she noticed for the first time the greying hairs around his temples. He took her hands gently in his. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m engaged to Elizabeth.’

Bernadette’s breath was coming in ragged gasps, her chest rising and falling with a too-quick rhythm. ‘Can you honestly tell me,’ she said, her eyes boring into his, ‘that you don’t want me?’

‘I love Elizabeth,’ he said, unable to look her in the eyes. Bernadette stiffened, a calm, icy feeling numbing her heart. She knew that feeling in herself – it was the moment before the breaking storm, the calm of a clear mind before her fury would be unleashed in a primitive, uncontrollable temper.

This is an edited extract from Acts of Love by Talulah Riley, to be published by Hodder & Stoughton on 11 August, price £12.99. To pre-order a copy for £9.74 (a 25 per cent discount) until 14 August, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. P&P is free on orders over £15.