Who is Vivian Benitez? Rufus Sewell's age gap with girlfriend explored after couple's engagement

The British actor Rufus Sewell got engaged to his girlfriend Vivian Benitez on December 5, 2023. Vivian took to Instagram to document the moment with her now-fiancé. She posted two pictures where she showed off her ring and was seen with The Holiday star in the next one.

While fans shared comments and posts congratulating Rufus and Vivian, others wondered what the age difference between the two was. Netizens also took to social media to comment that Vivian was too young for the British actor.

While Rufus Sewell is currently 56 years old, Vivian turned 27 on December 6, 2023, making the age difference between them 29 years. The latter took to Instagram to post a picture of herself from the day and to call out people who were "worried about the age difference" between Vivian and Rufus.

It is worth noting that Sewell was yet to speak about the news of his engagement at the time of writing this article.

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Who is Vivian Benitez?

Vivian Benitez is an American actress who was born on December 6, 1996, in New York. She began modeling at the age of 16 and became Wilhelmina LA's youngest model scout.

She got her big break alongside John Cusack in 2017's Arsenal. She went on to become the star of E!'s new Snapchat series Vivian in 2018. She gained recognition for her role in Criminal Minds.

As mentioned earlier, Vivian got engaged to British actor Rufus Sewell. It is worth noting that the news of the engagement comes a little after Vivian Benitez and her family went through some troubled times. Her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor in November 2023.

She took to Instagram to inform her followers of what was happening about the same. Vivian posted pictures of her father and explained the situation. She said that her father collapsed "out of nowhere" and had to be "admitted into the ICU."

"He suffered multiple seizures, a stroke, a heart attack, a burst bowel- but still, he woke up and asked the nurse if she had any weed and if she was taken lol worst of all they found a brain tumor," she wrote on Instagram.

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Rufus was married twice before his engagement to Vivian

Vivian Benitez and Rufus have mostly stayed out of the public eye throughout their relationship when they began dating two years ago. However, they did make a few red carpet-appearances together. This included the premieres of Rufus' movies Old in July 2021 and The Diplomat in April 2023. Rufus Sewell played the role of a man named Jasper in the Christmas film The Holiday.

Before getting engaged to Vivian Benitez, Rufus Sewell was married twice. His first wife was the Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah in 1999. However, the two ended their marriage in 2000. Yasmin revealed that the two had met in a bar and decided to move to the UK where they socialized and became associated with Primrose Hill set.

She told Elle that she made "some wrong decisions, wrong business decisions," which led to her losing her store, which was "devastating" for her.

"Rufus and I were no longer together, and that was quite traumatic. I was broke. It was a time of big loss. But it was also a time of great healing, when I went on – dare I say it – a spiritual journey," she told the magazine.

Following that, in 2004, the actor married Amy Gardner and they got divorced in 2006. That being said, they co-parented their 21-year-old son, William Douglas.