François Berléand, who returns this Friday in “La boîte à secrets” on France 3, shared twelve years of his life with a famous actress and director. Their separation was painful, but they remained close. What is less well known is that Jean Rochefort also loved this woman. One of them even became a father at her side.
François Berléand, who returns this Friday, September 26, 2025, at 9:10 p.m. on France 3 in the opening episode of the new season of “La boîte à secrets,” alongside Mireille Dumas and Garou, shared the life of filmmaker Nicole Garcia (who notably directed A Balcony on the Sea with Jean Dujardin, Place Vendôme with Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Dutronc, and Jean-Pierre Bacri, and Lovers with Pierre Niney, Stacy Martin, and Benoît Magimel).
A romance that lasted twelve years. On September 21, in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, the actor revealed that despite their difficult separation, they remained on good terms: “When I see her, it’s with great affection. Our separation wasn’t a tragedy, but it was painful, even though it was mutually agreed upon.”
The father of Martin, Fanny, Adèle, and Lucie (the last two are twins born in 2008 from his relationship with Alexia Stresi), has only fond memories of his relationship with Nicole Garcia: “They were extraordinary years, like all the years spent with the three women I loved deeply.”
Nicole Garcia, formerly in a relationship with François Berléand, had a child with Jean Rochefort.
However, he never had children with the actress and director. Nicole Garcia experienced the joys of motherhood alongside Jean Rochefort, with whom she had a son named Pierre. And before meeting this great actor, who passed away on October 9, 2017, she gave birth to Frédéric Bélier-Garcia, from a previous relationship.
François Berléand, for his part, is still in perfect love with Alexia. “I’ve lived with her for twenty years, and she’s a true joy. She’s a wonderful writer and she amazes me every day. Our life together is filled with tenderness and complicity.” Their eyes first met in the 2000s on the set of the horror film Let’s Walk in the Woods, directed by Lionel Delplanque.
