Sean Penn debuted his new romance with Moldovan actress and model Valeria Nicov at the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco on Saturday.
The couple, who first sparked dating rumors when they were spotted kissing in Madrid in September, looked so loved up on the red carpet.
While Sean looked dapper in a black suit and tie with a white collared shirt underneath, Valeria glowed in a stunning strapless black gown that featured a bunched and draped bodice.
She wore her dark hair slicked back into a tight bun, showcasing her incredible bone structure. According to her IMDb, Valeria has worked on six acting projects in her career, including Don’t Worry About the Kids.
The 64-year-old received a special honor on the night after decades of dedication to acting and directing in Hollywood and two Oscars under his belt for Milk and Mystic River.
Sean gave an impassioned speech after being presented with the award by Italian actress Valeria Golino, who starred in his directorial debut, The Indian Runner, in 1991.
© Stephane Cardinale – Corbis“I think it’s our job to exploit our diversity in positive ways, and to stand up for it, to embody it,” he said in his speech.
“I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage in diversity and keep telling those stories.”
Also in attendance at the film festival were Italian actress Monica Bellucci, director Tim Burton, and actor Andrew Garfield, amongst other stars.
© Stephane Cardinale – CorbisSean and Valeria’s couple debut comes two years after the “I Am Sam” actor divorced his previous wife, Australian actress Leila George, 32.
He opened up to Hollywood Authentic in April 2022 about the split, revealing that he wasn’t his best self in the marriage due to political anxiety.
© Marc Piasecki“We were married technically for one year, but for five years, I was a very neglectful guy,” he told the outlet.
“[I] allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important, and that included my place in being totally depressed and driven to alcohol and Ambien at 11 o’clock in the morning, by watching the news, by watching the Trump era, by watching it and just despairing.”
© Kevin WinterHe added that “beautiful, incredibly kind, imaginative, talented young women who get married to a man quite senior to them in years, they don’t actually love it when they get up from their peaceful night’s sleep and their new husband is on the couch, having been up since four, watching all of the [expletive] that’s going on in the world and has decided that 10:30 in the morning is a good time to neck a double vodka tonic and an Ambien and say: ‘Good morning, honey. I’m going to pass out for a few hours and get away from all this [expletive].'”
Sean has had a slew of high-profile relationships in the past; he was married to Madonna from 1985 to 1989, and then to Robin Wright from 1996 until they split in 2010 after years of tumult. The couple share a daughter, Dylan, 33, and a son, Hopper, 31.
