Winslet marriage ends in divorce

Friends had described Winslet and Threapleton's marriage as "rock solid"

LONDON, England -- The three-year marriage of "Titanic" actress Kate Winslet and her film director husband Jim Threapleton has ended with a "quickie" divorce in a British court.

The divorce petition brought by Winslet was uncontested and neither she nor Threapleton attended the brief hearing at the High Court in London.

The pair, whose split shocked the showbusiness world, married in 1998 at a church near where Winslet's family live in Reading, west of London.

Shortly after the split was announced, the actress told reporters that the couple's year-old daughter Mia remained the priority for both of them.

"Jim and I are both communicating constantly. Mia remains the happy child that she has always been," she said, asking reporters to "respect our privacy."

Winslet once said it was "love at first sight" when they met on the set of the film "Hideous Kinky" where Threapleton, who she has described as a "glorious-looking boy," was an assistant director.

The couple decided against a celebrity-style wedding, turning down offers from a number of magazines and opting for a low-key reception with sausages and mashed potatoes at a local pub.

Since the split, Winslet has been linked to "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes -- with their affair plastered across British tabloids, who are asking gleefully if the couple could be the next Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

The curvaceous actress has frequently been praised for her outspoken comments on dieting. She hit the headlines last month after revealing she had shed four stone (25 kg) after a consultation with a "facial analyst" who examined her face for signs of nutritional deficiency.