Juno Temple And Brett Goldstein Explained Roy And Keeley’s “Heartbreaking” Breakup

While their personality differences brought them together and helped them thrive, it’s their similarities that ultimately drew them apart. The start of Season 3 saw Keeley reshape her career from being a model and influencer to running her own PR firm, while Roy is hard-set on coaching the Richmond team to success and beating rival team West Ham.

“People say that when your personal life is going well, normally, your work life suffers, and vice versa,” Temple told BuzzFeed News. “It feels heartbreaking and complicated, but, at the same time, she has to focus on this other thing too and so does he.”

In Episode 2 of Season 3, Roy tells Ted and Trent Crimm (James Lance) that part of him regrets leaving the Chelsea team, where he became a star player before joining AFC Richmond years later, because he was scared he would eventually fail miserably at football, a clear metaphor for his relationship with Keeley. 

“What I understand about Roy is that he was this man who repressed his feelings for his entire life. Then he falls in love with Keeley, and she cracks him open. All these feelings come forward, but he has no way of managing them,” Goldstein said, calling Roy “self-destructive” in his self-imposed need to protect himself on the field and in his personal relationships. “It’s the first time he’s let anything out, and I think he feels panic and shame and a sense of worthlessness.”

Unlike the split between Ted and his wife Michelle (Andrea Anders) or that of Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) and her husband Rupert (Anthony Head), both of which were fueled by one person not feeling as strongly for the other, it’s clear Roy and Keeley still love each other apart as they did together. Of course, this makes their split all the more tragic.

“I think they both really wanted each other to grow and find their own footing,” Temple said. “And I think that has also led to complications of them being able to make it work as a couple.”

It’s uncertain whether the two will make their way back to each other at the end, but both Goldstein and Temple are excited to see their characters thrive independently.