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Who is Tommy Dorfman’s wife Elise Williams – and are they getting a divorce? The star of 13 Reasons Why and her partner had a whirlwind romance after Dorfman transitioned to living as a woman in 2020

Who is 13 Reasons Why’s Tommy Dorfman’s wife Elise Williams – and are they getting a divorce? Photo: @Josiah_FL/X
Who is 13 Reasons Why’s Tommy Dorfman’s wife Elise Williams – and are they getting a divorce? Photo: @Josiah_FL/X

Romeo + Juliet’s ‘prince of cats’ recently shared an Instagram carousel implying that she and Williams are on the outs; the private couple eloped in the autumn of 2023 after dating for nearly 3 years

Actress Tommy Dorfman seemed to be turning a new page in her love life as 2024 came to an end.

In a customary recap photo dump on Instagram, the 13 Reasons Why alum – who doubles as Tybalt and the Nurse in Romeo + Juliet on Broadway – shared some of the highs and lows of her year with fans. The first picture in the carousel shows Dorfman in a bathtub, basking in the sunlight. She captioned it, “Heartbreak feels good in a place like this (I wrote this entirely original line).” Fans immediately took this as a hint at her relationship with wife Elise Williams, or lack thereof.
 
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A few slides later, we see a photo of Succession star Annabelle Dexter-Jones, who Dorfman credits for “[keeping] me breathing and emotionally sober after one of the hardest weeks of my life”. The hardship in question is left unexplained. After some more swipes, Dorfman’s pet pup, Fiona, shows up. The text accompanying the pic reads, “Fiona loves her new home and, while it’s just the two of us now, I think she’s managing better than I.” All the signs lead to one conclusion – that Dorfman and Williams have gone their separate ways.

The pair were together for nearly three years before tying the knot in late 2023, according to People magazine. Dorfman was previously married to one Peter Zurkuhlen, back when she was living as a gay man. The Love, Victor actress came out as nonbinary in November 2017 and as a transwoman in July 2021. She shared with Time magazine that month that she had already “been privately identifying and living as a woman” for a year.

So just who is Dorfman’s ex Elise Williams? Here’s what to know.

What does Elise Williams do for work?

Elise Williams and Tommy Dorfman have largely kept their relationship under wraps. Photo: @tommy.dorfman/Instagram
Elise Williams and Tommy Dorfman have largely kept their relationship under wraps. Photo: @tommy.dorfman/Instagram
Williams has little to no public social media presence. In a May 2024 essay for Vogue, Dorfman opened up about her woman’s deep need for privacy, revealing that her elusive spouse doesn’t even follow her on Instagram. So there is not much information available about Williams. However, in the same piece, the Maybe This Will Save Me author shared that her then-new wife was interested in teaching, writing and interior design in her early twenties.

How did Elise Williams and Tommy Dorfman meet?

 

Dorfman and Williams have a classic modern love story. In her Vogue write-up, the 32-year-old got candid about finding Williams on the dating app Hinge, where she said she hoped to “[meet] people removed from Hollywood”.