‘Heartbreaking’ Love Actually scene is hitting fans ‘so much harder’ after they learn sad truth behind it

Emma Thompson has opened up on why that heart crushing Love Actually scene is even more of a tearjerker than we originally thought.

Pretty much everyone's favourite festive blockbuster is Richard Curtis' Love Actually, complete with an ensemble cast and perfect soundtrack.

Starring an iconic range of famous faces including Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson and, of course, Emma Thompson, the 2003 classic rom-com is hard not to love.

We have all kinds of different storylines unfolding in front of our eyes that all culminate in a big Christmas celebration.

We have people to root for - Liam Neeson, for example, who plays Daniel, and we have people that make us seethe with rage - the late, great Alan Rickman, who plays Harry.

The reason for our anger is obvious.

He breaks wife Karen's heart (played by Emma) as she finds out the beautiful necklace he bought from a jeweller is actually for another woman - his assistant who he's been flirting with at work - and she winds up with a Joni Mitchell CD.

We all love a bit of Joni, but that cuts deep.

And now, it turns out there's even more reason to be totally heartbroken by the scene as Emma's emotions weren't entirely rooted in fiction.

The 'necklace scene' in Love Actually is heartbreaking. (Universal Pictures)

It turns out Emma has been through adulterous heartbreak in real life.

Emma was married to renowned actor Kenneth Branagh between 1989 and 1995 - but Kenneth embarked on an affair with fellow actress Helena Bonham Carter.

Emma told the Telegraph: "That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it’s something everyone’s been through.

“I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me. Well, it wasn’t exactly that, but we’ve all been through it."

She continued: "I’ve had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom. Then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer.”

Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were married. (Larry Ellis Collection/Getty Images)

As for where Emma and Helena stand now?

Well, Emma told the Times: "You can’t hold on to anything like that. It’s pointless. I haven’t got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago."

A Harry Potter meme recently refreshed everyone's memory about the illicit tryst - and that all three of them starred in the wizard flick.

One person commented: "This makes the scene in love actually hit even harder."

Another said: "This is so heartbreaking."