Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married for 15 years, and their story is back in the headlines because of a single year: 2007. Parade reported that William has explained why the couple briefly called it quits that year, before either of them carried the titles Prince and Princess of Wales.
Parade framed it plainly. Their love story, the outlet wrote, “wasn’t always smooth sailing.”
Prince William Discusses Brief Split Before Engagement
Parade placed the split in 2007 and described it as brief. Neither the length of the separation nor the date they reunited appears in its account.
Prince William talking about this at all is the news. Royals rarely revisit the low points of their courtships on the record. A breakup that ended long ago, inside a marriage that has now lasted 15 years, still drew enough interest for Parade to run it under the word “finally.”
Short.
Parade’s version is the only one on the table, and the outlet did not quote Kate on the split.
A Split That Came Before the Titles
Kate was not yet a princess in 2007. She was the girlfriend of Prince William, and he was a future king. The couple briefly called it quits that year. The split came years before the wedding and long before they became the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Couples who split and reunite tend to come back with clearer terms than they left with. The second attempt is a choice made with full information. Both people already know what didn’t work the first time, and they come back anyway.
William and Kate did come back. Parade’s count of 15 years of marriage is the evidence.
Do you think a short breakup can actually make a relationship stronger?
What the 2007 Breakup Says About Their Marriage
Fifteen years of marriage now sits on top of a breakup most couples would rather forget. Prince William bringing it up suggests he no longer treats it as a wound. He treats it as part of the story.
Your old breakup gets that treatment only once it stops being dangerous. Early on, the split is the thing nobody mentions at dinner. Years later, after a wedding and a shared life, it becomes the chapter that proves the rest was chosen on purpose. Talking about it openly is a sign of security. Couples who are still unsure of each other don’t usually revisit the moment they almost ended.
Kate has not added her own account in Parade’s reporting. What William said about why it happened, and how they found their way back, is his version alone.
Prince William and Kate Middleton: Their Story So Far
September 2001: William and Kate met as students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
April 2007: The couple split briefly, then got back together that summer.
October 2010: William proposed to Kate during a private holiday in Kenya, and their engagement was announced on November 16, 2010.
April 29, 2011: William and Kate married at Westminster Abbey in London.
Sources: Parade
