I was crushed like a little fly: Mélanie Thierry unfiltered about her years in Raphaëls shadow

At the premiere of the movie “La Femme de”, directed by David Roux and based on the novel “Son nom d’avant” by Hélène Lenoir (published in 1998), Mélanie Thierry plays the role of a devoted and model wife of a wealthy industrialist. However, contrary to appearances, she is not a free woman. The title of this drama resonates with the actress, she embodies a “woman of”. Specifically, that of the singer Raphaël, her partner since 2002 (almost 25 years, yes, indeed!), with whom she has had three sons (Roman in 2008, Aliocha in 2013, and Isaac in 2024).

Mélanie Thierry, a real woman of?

Despite her career and fame, has Mélanie Thierry ever felt she was only seen as a “woman of”? Well, yes! She experienced this feeling at a time when Raphaël “was already very successful, was the idol of the youth, and I was looking for the actress that I was,” explained the 44-year-old actress to Madame Figaro. Mélanie added, “I didn’t know what I had in me, I had to prove myself, I was getting small roles that weren’t always rewarding, I took what came, I learned my craft”.

Her beginnings marked by doubt, but also by a sometimes brutal invisibility. Mélanie Thierry remembers those moments when, in the evening, she accompanied her partner without really being seen by others. “When I accompanied him somewhere, I didn’t exist, I was barely greeted, I was crushed like a little fly. I was so shy on top of that,” she recalled. Experiences that eventually shaped her character, “I suffered from these rude behaviors and, since then, I am very attentive to never snub the person accompanying me in the evening,” Mélanie Thierry joked.

Mélanie Thierry and Raphaël, the inseparable

Mélanie is no longer just the woman of… and one could also say the same for Raphaël who is also a “companion of”. A couple with an incredible longevity in this industry, the actress and the singer are a model of complementarity, as Mélanie has already emphasized.

“With Raphaël, we found each other well,” she admitted in an interview with Madame Figaro in 2022. “We have grown together and I believe that we get along well. Without pretension, I think, frankly, it’s admirable all that we have managed to achieve together so far.” She adds, “I need to admire the people I love, I admire my man and my children.”