And Benedict, how about you and Sophie?

Cumberbatch: I was smitten with Sophie 17-and-a-half years before we ended up getting married.

Really?

Cumberbatch: Before I had a serious relationship. Obviously, as a tongue-tied newbie idiot who couldn’t really… I didn’t know what to do about it. I finally figured out what to do about it 17-and-a-half years later.

_{Sophie Hunter and Benedict Cumberbatch earlier this year}

Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images

How did you reconnect after 17-plus years?

Cumberbatch: We’d been friends all through that time, but really that first kind of, Oh my God, and that yearning, kind of melted into, Oh that would never happen, it was just a friendship. And then it got to a point where I was like, Maybe it could happen. I’m going to see if it could happen again. I felt confident at that stage to suggest we go for a date, and it started.

Colman: Oh, exciting.

Cumberbatch: Yeah, that’s all you’re ever going to hear, world, because the rest is private.

But you’re going to give hope to so many people that are best friends to think maybe it could happen.

Cumberbatch: Well, yeah, that’s true.

Colman: Also, I mean it comes round, so hopefully your partner does become your best friend. Ed is my best friend.

Cumberbatch: I think that’s the secret to longevity as well. It’s not just about the intensity of the love, or the romance, or all the glorious things about them, but it’s about the friendship. It’s about that person being your best friend. And knowing that men can be very slow on the uptake, is it?

Colman: I think so, but don’t be hard on yourself.

The Roses releases in cinemas Friday, August 29.

This article previously appeared on GLAMOUR US.