Alan Rickman and Wife Rima Horton Were Together Almost 50 Years - They Married a Year before His Untimely Passing

Severus Snape from “Harry Potter,” actor Alan Rickman, once revealed why he and his longtime love, wife Rima Horton, had decided not to have kids of their own.

Alan Rickman and his wife Rima Horton started dating in 1965 when he was nineteen, and she was only eighteen years old. Horton was his first girlfriend. The pair moved in together in 1997 and were together until they officially tied the knot.

In April 2015, Hello Magazine reported Rickman had secretly wed Horton, his partner of nearly fifty years, in a New York intimate ceremony.

SECRETLY HITCHED & MARRIAGE

During an interview with German newspaper Bild in 2012, he replied to a question about having a long and happy relationship without being married, saying:

“We are married. Just recently. It was great because no one was there.”

After their nuptials, the English director shared they walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and had lunch. He then joked that he bought his lovely spouse a $200 wedding band that she never wears. Rickman had let it slip that he was a married man.

Speaking previously about Horton, Rickman stated each relationship should be allowed to have its own rules and described the type of person his wife was:

“She’s tolerant. She’s incredibly tolerant. Possibly a candidate for sainthood.”

WHO IS HORTON?

Horton is an English economist and a former Labor Party councilor for the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea from 1986 until 2006.

According to Huff Post, she and Rickman met when they were both students at Chelsea School of Art. The 74-year-old has also worked as a lecturer at Kingston University.

WHY THEY NEVER BECAME PARENTS

Rickman had been open about their romance over the years and even shared personal reasons why the couple never had children together, divulging that he was not the only one involved in the decision-making about having kids:

"There is another person here. I would have loved a family. Sometimes I think that in an ideal world, three children, aged 12, 10, and eight, would be dropped on us, and we would be great parents for that family."

RICKMAN’S PASSING & TRIBUTES

Sadly, the "Harry Potter" star who portrayed the villainous Severus Snape passed away after tying the knot to the love of his life in January 2016. Rickman died at age 69, surrounded by friends and family.

The much-loved British star had been privately suffering from cancer. Rickman’s career spanned many decades, and he was most well-known for his acting stints in films like “Love Actually,” and Truly, Madly, Deeply,” among others.

Fellow celebrities mourned his death with social media posts, including world-famous author J.K Rowling, who tweeted that Rickman was a magnificent and wonderful man.

Meanwhile, former co-star Emma Watson shared she felt lucky to have worked and spent time “with such a special man and actor," adding that she would miss their conversations.