'It was easy to do because I knew what being heartbroken felt like' - Emma Thompson shares devastating real emotions behind iconic Love Actually scene

It's that time of year again, when the classic Christmas films come out, and a nation once again cries along with Emma Thompson's character in Love Actually.

The 2003 film was largely feel-good, apart from the now iconic scene that saw Emma's character, Karen, realise her husband Harry (Alan Rickman) was cheating on her.

In the film, Harry and Karen share two children and appear happily married. However, Harry begins a flirtation with his secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch), eventually buying her a gold necklace for Christmas.

Karen stumbles across the necklace and believes it's for her. When she unwraps a Joni Mitchell CD on the big day and the necklace is nowhere to be seen, one of the most heartbreaking moments in film history unfolds as Karen realises the truth.

Recently, Emma Thompson has made this scene even more devastating by sharing the real emotions she felt while filming the now infamous sequence.

"It was easy, really, to do, because I knew what being heartbroken felt like," the actress says of her feelings while shooting the truth of Harry's infidelity unfolding.

"It wasn't difficult," she continues, recalling that while filming took place, director Richard Curtis was "snivelling in the corner."

The star says she understands just how it feels to be desperate to cry, but have to "cover it up." She adds, candidly, "There's no woman who doesn't know what that's like, especially if they've got kids."

The actress also talks about the tiny moments from the scene, such as Karen being totally floored, but turning around to straighten the bed.

"It's such a natural thing to do at the end," she explains, adding, "Because it's just that last little moment of 'I'll sort my face out, push this [emotion] somewhere where it's not going to be seen, and then just pat the bed.'"

Emma has previously shared that the moment in the movie reflects what happened during her own marriage to Kenneth Branagh, who allegedly had an affair with Helena Bonham Carter while they were together.

"I had my heart very badly broken by Ken," she told Time magazine, adding, "So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me. Well, it wasn’t exactly that, but we’ve all been through it."

The couple divorced in 1995, and Emma married actor and producer Greg Wise in 2003.

As for Karen and Harry, their ending was left ambiguous in the film. However, Richard Curtis’ wife, Emma Freud, once shared what could've happened to the couple in the aftermath of the affair being uncovered.

According to The Independent, she once made live comments on social media platform X, while the film was showing. Responding to questions, somebody asked what became of Karen and Harry.

"They stay together, but home isn’t as happy as it once was," she replied, simply.