Kate Winslet Marriage Ended Because Rebecca Hall?

Rebecca Hall in February 2010. PacificCoastNewsOnline.com.

Sam Mendes' relationship with Rebecca Hall surfaces.

We were shocked to learn on Monday of Kate Winslet's split from her second husband, director Sam Mendes. While sources have said that their busy schedules got in the way of their marriage, it now appears that a certain 27-year-old actress may have played a part as well.

Rebecca Hall is a Cambridge-educated, "willowy" young actress whom Sam Mendes, 44, has directed in a few theater and film productions over the past year. Hall's performances have earned critical acclaim, and she and Mendes reportedly have forged a very close friendship. Rebecca Hall also happens to be single as she split from her boyfriend Freddie Stevenson within the last few years, according to British papers.

Some insiders say that Sam Mendes has relied on Rebecca Hall as "a shoulder to cry on" as his marriage to 34-year-old Kate Winslet has unraveled. Furthermore speculations suggest that Hall is "totally Sam's type -- a thespian mix of brains and beauty." But sources close to Mendes insist that speculating an affair between him and Rebecca Hall "is taking it too far."

Meanwhile a bikini-clad Kate Winslet is said to be getting support from her friend and colleague Leonardo DiCaprio and holidaying in Mexico with her two young children, as Hollywood know-alls say she's trying to re-create her image in the entertainment industry as a vivacious, single, carefree mom.

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