JANUARY 25: Photographers clustered outside the Frank E. Campbell funeral home in Manhattan, where Ledger's body was prepared before being flown to L.A. Photo by: James Devaney / WireImage |
Worn out from filming and flying and seriously sleep-deprived, Ledger crashed in his bed sometime late on Jan. 21 or early Jan. 22. He never woke up. News of his death reached Williams on the set of her movie Mammoth in Trollhättan, Sweden, late on Jan. 22; the director and other crew members sat with her through the night and helped her catch an early flight to New York the next day. Until Ledger's death, Williams seemed to be coping well with their breakup; she had briefly dated director Phil Morrison, and according to sources has lately been seeing Ryan Gosling, her costar in a still-to-be-shot indie movie,
Blue Valentine. "She didn't seem devastated over the breakup," says one friend. "She was going about her business and career. She is sweet and delicate but also strong, like a steel magnolia."
She will have to be, now that she and Matilda are on their own. "Michelle will survive," says the friend. "She has to for her daughter's sake." What makes her pain and sorrow even harder to bear, says the friend, is that Michelle never truly got over her feelings for Heath. "Michelle still loves him. They genuinely loved each other. They loved the life they had together. They were kindred spirits."
• Alex Tresniowski. K.C. Baker, Kathy Ehrich Dowd, Lesley Messer, Beth Perry, Ryan Pienciak, Alyssa Shelasky, Jeff Slonim and Natasha Stoynoff in New York City and Johnny Dodd, Jennifer Garcia and Mary Margaret in Los Angeles
