'Love Actually' Ending Explained! Did Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman Characters Stay Together?

Christmas and romantic comedy classic, Love Actually, is a wonderful, if relatively straightforward, story of multiple, connected romances in Great Britain that play out in the weeks leading up to Christmas. One of the stories, however, doesn't have a straightforward ending: Karen and Harry's (Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman). Now, Emma Freud (wife of director/writer Richard Curtis, and script editor for the film herself) is clearing up that famous ending.

In the film, Rickman's Harry is seen flirting, and later buying a Christmas gift for, his secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch), who repeatedly hits on Harry throughout the film. Karen catches Harry buying the gift, but she thinks it is a surprise for herself.

When it's time to open presents and her gift is not what she thought it was, Karen immediately knows Harry is having an affair and bursts into tears, seemingly wanting nothing to do with him. At the end of the film, it's left incredibly ambiguous as to whether or not Harry and Karen stayed together or separated.

On Saturday, Freud live tweeted a midnight showing of the film for fans. When asked if the affair between Mia and Harry actually happened or not (the two are never shown being physical with each other), Freud responded:

@carlotta429 DEFINITELY had an affair. i begged richard just to make it a flirtation, but no. the whole way.

— emma freud (@emmafreud) December 13, 2015

Then, another fan asks for clarification on the outcome of Thompson and Rickman's characters, to which Freud responded:

@JPerlstrom they stay together but home isn't as happy as it once was. — emma freud (@emmafreud) December 13, 2015

That's one 12-year-old mystery cleared up!

Love Actually also stars Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and Bill Nighy. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.