Perfect couple ... Kate and Jim

TO the outside world, they were the perfect married couple.

But the dream was cruelly shattered on Monday evening when the couple issued a brief statement announcing the end of their marriage.

It read: "Kate Winslet and Jim Threapleton announced today that they have decided to separate. No other parties are involved in this amicable and respectful separation. Their daughter Mia will remain first priority for both of them."

The gloomy words came just weeks after 25-year-old movie beauty Kate said of her relationship with RAF group captain's son Jim: "We are very lucky."

In this month's edition of the glossy magazine InStyle, she again spoke of her love for her 27-year-old husband. Titanic star Kate revealed they had recently escaped for a romantic break for the first time since daughter Mia was born 11 months ago.

The split is understood to have happened in the past few weeks, with both parties moving out of their imposing £800,000 riverside home in Walton-on Thames. Now it is back on the market.

Kate has told friends she is convinced the relationship is over for good and is living with her daughter in her old pad in Holloway, North London.

So where did it all go wrong? How could the couple with everything end up in such a sorry situation?

Her Sun Woman analyses the couple's extraordinary relationship in an attempt to answer those questions.

Wedding belle ... marriage reception was held in a pub

By SINEAD DESMOND and SHARON HENDRY

KATE WINSLET had it all - recognition as one of the sexiest screen stars, a gorgeous baby daughter, an adoring husband and a new slimline look.

But now her world has fallen apart with the news that her marriage to director Jim Threapleton has collapsed.

Their partnership was believed to be one of the most solid in showbiz - a marriage we all admired, envied and respected.

Their simple wedding at a local church in her home town of Reading, Berks, endeared the couple to a nation who had already fallen hook, line and sinker for curvy Titanic star Kate.

Piggy in the middle ... couple face hard decisions over daughter Mia's future

They shunned a crass celebrity ceremony and opted for a simple occasion, surrounded by family and friends, followed by a down-to-earth reception at a nearby pub.

They also spurned a glitzy honeymoon, opting for a cycling holiday in Scotland.

Despite their enormous wealth and Kate's fame, they seemed so normal, so in love and so determined to make their marriage work.

And the question many fans have been left asking is: If a seemingly devoted couple like Kate and Jim can't make it, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Their wedding came just a year after they fell in love in 1997 on the set of Hideous Kinky.

Kate, the youngest actor ever to have received two Oscar nominations, was thrilled to be in the film, which told the story of a hippy girl and her two young daughters in Morocco in the Sixties.

But during filming something else caught her attention - dishy Yorkshire film director Jim.

Kate says: "I arrived in Morocco and saw this rather glorious- looking blond boy and I just went 's**t,' because I knew that was it. And there was nothing either of us could do about it."

Love's a beach ... the surf was always up for Kate and Jim in happier days

It was love at first sight and Kate felt convinced that Jim was her chance for a happy future.

Because, despite coming across as self-assured, Kate's life had not always been plain sailing.

As a child at Redroofs drama school in Maidenhead, Berks, her nickname was "Blubber" because of her size.

And four years ago her ex-boyfriend, EastEnders scriptwriter Stephen Tredre, died from cancer. Even though they had separated more than two years previously, they were very close and she still referred to him as her "guardian angel."

She missed the LA premiere of Titanic to go to his funeral.

So it was with this determination - that acting would never get in the way of her private life - that she married Jim.

Sealed with a kiss ... loving gesture the world saw Picture: ALL ACTION

But could the couple have fallen victim to their determination to shun the Hollywood lifestyle?

When their daughter Mia, now 11 months, was born, they refused to hire a nanny, preferring to care for her themselves.

Kate said recently: "Having a baby has strengthened the relationship."

But she also admitted: "There are highs and lows and at times it's tough."

It is also possible that the couple split because Jim tired of being "Mr Winslet."

Jim's grandfather, Norman, confirmed the couple may have split because Jim was unhappy in her shadow.

Turning cold ... the pair make a frosty exit after a party in July

He told Channel 5 News: "Kate made all the running really. She was the one who said she fell head over heels and he made her laugh - and that amused us a little bit because he's a bit serious-minded.

"He's not shy exactly but he just keeps in the background and I think that might have had some effect on him.

"He wants to be recognised eventually in his own right and not to be just Kate's husband."

When Jim and Kate returned from filming Hideous Kinky in March, 1998, they moved into her flat in Holloway, North London.

The spectacular success of 1997 blockbuster Titanic had shot

Kate to superstardom but she insisted her career wasn't the be-all and end-all.

She said: "Titanic was great. It opened up a lot of doors in my career but the change it brought wasn't as great as the change brought by Jim." So Kate decided to turn down the offers flooding in from Hollywood, remaining in England because "I love it, it's my home and everyone I love is here."

When the couple revealed they were to marry, she said: "When you know it's the right thing, you know. I knew instantly, I thought yep, I'll have that."

Kate decided to choose roles that kept her close to her home. Quills, her first film after her wedding, was filmed at Pinewood.

Then, just a year after they married, Kate and Jim announced they were expecting a baby.

They were over the moon but Kate didn't rule out acting while pregnant and accepted a part in the film Enigma.

After Mia's birth in October last year, Kate decided to take a seven-month career break to be a full-time mum,

Known for her curves, her weight had ballooned to 13st during her pregnancy, which depressed the star and reminded her of the bullying she had suffered as a child.

It was just two weeks ago that Kate revealed her dramatic new slimline look in glossy women's magazine InStyle.

Using a diet designed by a Chinese facial analyst, the star has shed a massive 4st.

Her new look is bound to have sparked more offers of work in America, which would have taken her away from Jim and Mia.

But Kate's change in appearance is not the only thing that might have caused upset at home.

The couple had to move out of their Walton-on-Thames home earlier this year while builders repaired flood damage.

And neighbours have complained about their rows - one even said he had to wear ear plugs.

But he won't need them now, however.

For Kate and Jim have called it a day, ending one of Tinseltown's happiest marriages.

Source: The Sun