Why did Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger break up? Split explored as actress gets emotional discussing late star

Michelle Williams, 44, recalled Heath Ledger in a recent emotional conversation. The actress appeared on the latest episode of the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, discussing her special ex and making rare heartfelt comments.

The actors met while filming Brokeback Mountain in 2004 and began dating shortly after. On October 28, 2005, the couple welcomed their only daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger.

After three years of courtship, Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger broke up in 2007, a few months before the 10 Things I Hate About You actor's demise.

Though they never remarked on their split publicly, several sources revealed the actor called it quits, citing different lifestyles and Ledger's substance use concerns.

Michelle Williams got emotional while talking about Heath Ledger

During the recent appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, the Blue Valentine actress reflected on her relationship with Heath Ledger.

According to a People report, Dax Shepard conversed:

"I feel obligated to say that I knew him a little bit when he was getting sober, and I don’t know that I’ve ever fallen in love with somebody so quickly."

Recounting his experience with the legendary late actor, he also added,

"This is one of the most special boys I’ve ever met, and I can feel the weight of the world on him in a very special way that kind of broke my heart. I was very, very sad, and I thought he was just so special."

Michelle felt emotional while responding to the host, expressing,

"So special, so special. Thank god there's Matilda."

Their heartwarming conversation continued with the host lauding Heath Ledger as,

"This heart here that's just leaking out everywhere."

Agreeing with him, Williams responded, saying,

"Yeah, an incredible sensitivity."

Recounting about sharing Matilda with Heath Ledger, the actress further continued,

"We had a baby. But I suppose maybe it's a good thing about being young is that you don't have so much life experience that you can contextualize things. So you're really just going with the flow."

During the conversation, Michelle Williams also spoke her heart out about having kids and how the little ones motivate her.

"Kids are such great life checkers. They force you to put your best self in front of them. You can’t abdicate your life and your work and your own desires, but you do have to put them in check and figure out which master you’re going to serve."

She also expressed her belief that one cannot "be equally good" in different aspects of life " at the exact same time."

She chimed in:

"You can't be equally good at [everything] at the exact same time, and you have to allow for that give and take, but then also replenish the other things."

Later, the Manchester by the Sea actress added:

"If you have a big period of being at home, you need to go back to what you've left unattended and put some light over there. So I think it's just this constant back and forth, but making sure that you don't leave one of them unattended for too long."

Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger's relationship timeline explored

They met while working together

The couple fell in love while filming Brokeback Mountain. According to a Daily Mail report, it all started after Heath supported Michelle during a knee injury.

In a July 2015 conversation with Out Magazine, screenwriter Diana Ossana recalled the moment, explaining,

"She'd twisted her knee, and we had to call someone to take her to the hospital. Heath was not about to let her go alone, and as he was getting into the vehicle with her he was smoothing her hair back."

Calling it a "truly love at first sight" for Heath Ledger, she further added,

"I remember him looking at her, and she looking up at him with these wide eyes. She was almost startled by the attention he was giving her, but you could see it every day from thereon."

Experiencing parenthood together

A few months into the relationship, Williams found she was pregnant with Heath's child. In October 2005, they had their daughter, Matilda.

Though their romance looked like a fairytale, they called it quits after three years. With Matilda, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were experiencing a dreamy time and balancing their professional and personal lives together.

Per E! News, The Dark Knight star described his family as "everything to me — the most important thing I do" and explained how he and his ex-partner looked after their daughter.

"When Michelle is working, I'm the manny. And when I'm working, she's the nanny."

He also explained:

"Before, I felt like I was floating through life, like a ghost; I may not have even existed."

Unfortunately, things began changing soon. Heath's obsession with drugs turned out to be a crucial factor impacting his relationship with Williams.

According to a 2008 People report, an insider close to Michelle revealed,

"Heath's drug use was something that affected them profoundly. Michelle didn’t want their daughter around that. She was very clear that Heath loved his daughter and was a good father. She couldn’t always rely on him."

Another reason for their split was Heath's growing interest in parties and their dissimilar lifestyles. Nicki Swift reported that a source disclosed to Access Hollywood,

"He had a lifestyle that really wasn't — at least in Michelle William's eyes — compatible with raising a child and continuing in that relationship. Even though their relationship did not work out, she did love Heath — she loved him very much."

Busy Philipps, Matilda's godmother, wrote about the couple in her memoir This Will Only Hurt a Little. She discussed how she felt Heath and Michelle would get back together.

She wrote:

"He and Michelle were in the process of separating at that point, and I felt sad for both of them but weirdly like something would be figured out and it wasn’t the end of the story for them."

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams drifted apart in September 2007.

On January 22, 2008, Heath passed away due to an accidental prescription drug overdose at the age of 28.