THE LOVE NEST: Dorchester Hotel, London

THE PLAYERS: Ralph Fiennes and Cornelia Crisan

THE DISH: Fiennes's love life was already plenty scandalous when he embarked on a dalliance at the swank Dorchester, long a hangout for celebs from Kate Moss to Victoria Beckham to Jennifer Lopez. After all, the Oscar-nominated actor had left his wife in 1995 for the actress Francesca Annis, 18 years his senior. (Now in her early 60s, Ms. Annis was famous for playing Elizabeth Taylor's handmaiden in Cleopatra.) Fiennes and Annis seemed stable and happy for nine years—until the tempestuous night in February 2004 when Fiennes spotted Cornelia Crisan, a then 28-year-old Romanian singer, at the Dorchester bar. According to Crisan, the Oscar-nominated actor gave her his room number and arranged to meet upstairs. They embarked on an affair that lasted until 2006, when Crisan spilled her guts to the tabloids and Fiennes separated from Annis. Crisan recalled that night of passion with crisp accuracy: Aretha Franklin songs, Champagne, and instructions from Fiennes to remove all of her clothing except for her high heels—she said he routinely asked her to leave them on during their dalliances.

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