Alan Rickman secretly married childhood sweetheart

Actor Alan Rickman. Photo / Getty Images

British actor Alan Rickman has wed his childhood sweetheart in a secret ceremony.

The Harry Potter star, 69, tied the knot with Rima Horton, who he has been dating since they met as teenagers in the 1960s, in an intimate ceremony in New York.

He announced the news in an interview with German newspaper Bild.

When quizzed on the longevity of their relationship without being married, Rickman replied, "We are married. It's very recent... It was great, because nobody was there. After the ceremony in New York, we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and had lunch."

Rickman did not buy his bride an engagement ring, but he did treat her to a wedding band, adding, "But she never wears it."

- WENN