Italian prosecutors have said that Colin Firth's wife, Livia, was forced to make changes to "her lifestyle", after she accused her alleged stalker of hounding her with countless emails and texts.
Italian film producer Livia first made claims that an Italian journalist , Marco Brancaccia, 55, was harrassing her in March, prompting a police investigation in Italy. Livia has since confessed to having an affair with Marco whilst on a break from her marriage to Colin Firth, between 2015 - 2016. The couple have been married since 1997.
Colin and Livia have also revealed that Marco is a former friend.
The case has since entered the courts. Now, prosecutors have revealed that she was "living in terror", following the alleged harrassment. They said, "‘There was evidence of stalking against the victim in the form of messages and emails.
"She was very frightened and they were serious persecutory acts against her. She had to change her lifestyle because of the messages.
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It has been alleged that her former lover Marco had been sending threatening texts and making persistent phone calls to Livia. It's also reported that he sent emails to actor Colin.
Livia made a complaint to Italian police following the 'stalking'. A spokesman for Italy's Carabinieri police previously told The Times, "A complaint has been made by the couple to prosecutors and the police have been investigating."
Marco has since been charged with stalking, but under the Italian legal system, a hearing will be held to determine whether the case needs to proceed to a full trial. It is reported that Marco could receive up to five years in prison, if he is found guilty.
A preliminary hearing has been postponed until July, due to a lawyer's strike.
The couple previously confirmed in a statement to The Times that they were on a break during the time that Livia had an affair with Marco.
It read, 'A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited.'
While the statement sees Livia confessing to the affair, it explains that, shortly after, 'Mr Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented.'
Mr Branacaccia previously issued a statement on the matter.
He has claimed to The Times that the 'stalking' accusations are false. His statement read, 'We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me. My ‘stalking’ consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an email.'
Details of the matter first came to light following a report in Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Colin and Livia have been married for 21 years, and share two teenage sons. The family now spend much of their time in Italy, after Colin, 57, gained dual citizenship.
