With a look of grief and eyes puffed red from crying, Heath Ledger’s ex-fiancée rushed home to
New York yesterday.
Actress Michelle Williams had been on location in Sweden shooting the film “Mammoth” when she got the devastating
news.
She flew back from Stockholm to her Brooklyn home with 2-year-old Matilda, her daughter by Ledger.
The death was the end of a tragic spiral for Ledger and Williams, which began when they split last fall.
The pair had told family that it was the stress of fame and the forced separation of their acting careers that drove
them apart.
Many had assumed Ledger had just wanted to sow his wild oats, especially when he was spotted around town with a
string of gorgeous celebrities such as Helena Christensen, Kate Hudson, Heather Graham and Gemma Ward.
But with word that the “Brokeback Mountain” star had died from an overdose, reports surfaced that Led- ger had been
living a dark, secret life of drugs.
According to a report in Britain’s Daily Mail, Ledger was a full-blown drug addict.
“He had a stint in rehab last year when he was treated for heroin,” a source told the paper.
“Heath totally wanted to be on his own these past few months since he and Michelle split in September,” the source
added. “Michelle was very much in love with him, but the fact he continued to dabble in drugs kept their relationship
from being one she could rely on.
“He adored Matilda, and when Michelle called it quits, he missed Matilda so much that he was thrown into a deep, dark
depression.”
Although the Daily Mail source said Ledger had been in rehab for treatment, other reports said he had gone into a
rehab center merely to study addicts in preparation for a role in the 2006 movie “Candy.”
“His close friend and ‘Brokeback’ co-star Jake Gyllenhaal has been worried about him for months,” the paper added.
“And he knew Heath was sinking further into a depression. Jake is Matilda’s godfather, and he and Heath had become
really close since they did ‘Brokeback’ together.”
The report also said the strain of playing the Joker in the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight,” helped drive him to
depression.
At times during the filming, “I probably slept an average of two hours a night, Ledger told The New York Times. “I
couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he took Ambien, which provided
little relief.
Ledger and Williams met as they filmed “Brokeback” together. He had dated other stars including Naomi Watts.
But sparks flew with Williams after she suffered an accident while filming a sledding scene.
“We were knee-deep in snow,” Ledger said in an interview in London’s Observer magazine. “On the fifth take, Michelle
and I were tobogganing down the hill. We were supposed to fall off, having a fun time . . .
“And Michelle was screaming in pain. And I thought she’s acting . . . she said ‘no, I’m really in pain!’ She’d
twisted her knee . . . I felt I always had to look after her after that.”
Ledger told the mag their daughter was conceived at the Byron Bay resort outside Sydney, Australia.
“We just fell very deeply into one another’s arms. Our bodies definitely made those decisions for us,” he said. “It’s
very romantic. It’s very spiritual.”
They settled in Brooklyn and became a fixture in their Boerum Hill neighborhood.
After they broke up, they tried to stay friendly for the sake of little Matilda. They reunited for her birthday in
October, and even set up identical-looking bedrooms for her in each of their apartments.
After the breakup, The Post spotted Williams putting on a brave face by strapping on high heels and visiting the
fashionable Union Hall bar in Park Slope.
But her life as a single mother was definitely not as wild as Ledger’s swinging-bachelor ways. His string of actress
hotties was capped when he met up with Lindsay Lohan at the Beatrice Inn in Greenwich Village.
They saw each other several times – and they had gotten so close that she was devastated by his death.
“I loved him!” she exclaimed, according to E! News.
The show reported that “they had plans to meet this weekend, because Lindsay was going to be in New York. So news of
his passing hit her especially hard.”
Lohan’s own substance-abuse problems and stints in rehab only added fuel to the fire of speculation that he was using
drugs.
“Let’s just say, she could really relate to his situation,” a source told E!
Despite the breakup, the families of both Ledger and Williams have stayed close. Ledger’s dad said the family still
plans to keep close with little Matilda.
Yesterday, Williams’ family also spoke out in grief.
“It has just broken everybody’s heart in my family,” said her father, Larry Williams, according to the Sydney Morning
Herald.
“My heart goes out to everyone, his family, my family, we are just very saddened. The saddest thing is his daughter,
whom he just loved dearly.”