Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker fell deeply in love during the prequel trilogy of Star Wars. They married and had children together before Anakin turned to the Dark Side and broke Padme’s heart. It led to her giving up on life, as she couldn’t bear the pain. Or is all that even true? Did she really love Anakin? Or did Padme cheat on Anakin?
There’s a theory that Padme cheated on Anakin with Obi-Wan Kenobi and that she secretly loved Kenobi the entire time. That’s why Anakin grew jealous, pushing him to the Dark Side even further. However, it’s only a theory, and there’s nothing to corroborate Padme’s cheating.
It is an interesting theory with a lot of good points, but in the end, it’s just a theory that fans came up with to make matters even more interesting. In reality, Obi-Wan was too devoted to the Jedi Order to enter such relationships, and Padme genuinely loved Anakin too much to hurt him like that. Still, let’s dissect the theories to see why some fans believe Padme cheated on Anakin.
Did Padme Love Anakin?
Before we dive into concrete theories – it all stems from the question, did Padme really love Anakin? And the answer to any Star Wars fan is obvious – not only did she love Anakin, Padme adored him completely. Just think about it.
She was a mature woman with Senatorial duties, while Anakin was just this reckless, playful kid with a lot of heart but not a lot of reasoning. So, why would Padme marry such a guy? Well, the answer is simple – they fell madly in love.
That point is heavily driven in the movies. First, it was expressed several times that only Anakin and Padme could understand how different they are and love each other even more for that reason. Second, when Anakin turned to the Dark Side, Padme just couldn’t take it – she gave up on life because she just couldn’t watch the love of her life become what he eventually became.
Did Padme Cheat On Anakin With Rush Clovis?
The main theory about Padme’s infidelity revolves around her relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, there’s another “affair” that fans speculate happened while Anakin and Padme were together – the one with Rush Clovis, a senator from Scipio. However, it never actually happened, especially not while Padme was with Anakin.
Amidala and Clovis grew close to each other during her first year in the Galactic Senate – way before Anakin ever came into the picture. However, even then, when their relationship was just about to turn romantic, Padme rejected Rush Clovis in order to focus on her work. After that, Clovis grew so mad that he stopped talking to Padme completely.
Later, during the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council suspected Rush Clovis was working with the Separatists. Clovis believed Amidala wanted to rekindle their relationship, so he invited her to a Separatist meeting, confirming the Council’s doubts. Still, it was clear she wanted nothing to do with him.
In Star Wars Legends – precisely, in The Clone Wars series – Clovis obviously had feelings for Amidala. However, it was clearly just a misinterpretation of her kindness because she adored Anakin with all her heart. At one point, Rush tried to force a kiss upon Padme, as you can see in the video below.
It ended badly for him, though, as Anakin almost beat him to death before Padme stopped him. No matter how you toss and turn it, Padme and Clovis never had a romantic relationship, let alone an affair while she was with Anakin.
Did Padme Cheat On Anakin With Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Finally, the main theory we’re about to debunk! There are numerous theories about Padme cheating on Anakin with Obi-Wan Kenobi. And, when you look closely at their points, there are some valid arguments there.
First of all, they really look very close, especially in Revenge of the Sith. Almost… too close? When Obi-Wan Kenobi was worried about Anakin, he went to Padme to check up on him instead of taking it to the Jedi Council. There’s also this scene where Padme puts her hand on Obi-Wan’s thigh during the Battle of Geonosis right behind Anakin’s back.
Furthermore, Anakin kind of sounded like a jealous boyfriend while talking to Kenobi before their duel on Mustafar. It led to Obi-Wan screaming, “let her go,” as if he had strong feelings for her.
Finally, the early drafts of Revenge of the Sith scripts are rumored to have included the affair and the jealousy pushing Anakin over the edge and to the Dark Side. In the end, none of this was ever corroborated with any evidence – it’s all just theories that fans came up with to make Star Wars more “saucy” and dramatic.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was heavily devoted to the Jedi Order, and their rule was never to develop such strong relationships, so I doubt he would have an affair behind the backs of the entire Jedi Order and Anakin – his best friend. He and Padme had strong feelings for each other – but it was purely a platonic friendship and respect Amidala had for Kenobi and his wisdom.
And, of course, Obi-Wan wouldn’t go to the Jedi Council if he sensed something was off with Anakin. They already expressed doubts about training him in the first place, so he didn’t want to risk putting his friend in danger. Hence, he turned to Padme, the person who was the closest to Skywalker, other than himself.
The hand-on-thigh scene literally happened right after Padme gave Anakin a warm kiss on the cheek. It was more of a friendly expression of affection than a romantic gesture, and Obi-Wan barely even recognized it.
During Kenobi’s duel with Anakin on Mustafar, Skywalker was already deep into the Dark Side, so of course, he spoke jealously and angrily. All his negative emotions spoke out of him, not because Padme cheated, but because that’s what the Dark Side does to you. Obi-Wan screamed, “let her go,” because he genuinely cared for her and didn’t want her to suffer.
In the end, it’s an interesting theory, but only a theory, nonetheless. Still, it pointed to some other things and additional wild theories fans came up with that make Star Wars look like a telenovela. Still, let’s humor those theories a bit, as they, too, have some valid points.
Luke And Leia Theories
So, the theories around Padme’s infidelity took a step further, saying that Luke and Leia might not have the same father. There’s this rare – but very real – occurrence called superfecundation, where two egg cells get fertilized with sperm cells from two different men, causing twins to have different biological fathers despite being born as twins.
Seeing that Anakin only sensed one child – Luke – but not the other – Leia – fans suggest it is because Leia was actually not his daughter, but Obi-Wan Kenobi’s. Also, Luke’s eyes were blue while Leia’s were brown, further suggesting they might not share the same biological father.
The reality is that Kenobi has nothing to do with Luke and Leia biologically. He only played a father figure to them both due to them losing both of their parents so young and him being so close to both Padme and Anakin. He felt like it was his duty to help.
Anakin only sensed one child because Luke was born Force-sensitive, like his father, whereas Leia was not Force-sensitive, like her mother. That only shows Luke picked up more of Anakin’s genes, while Leia picked up more from Padme. That’s furthermore corroborated with their eye color – Luke’s are blue, like Anakin’s, whereas Leia’s are brown, like Padme’s.
People tend to overthink stuff and make everything far more dramatic than it really is. I have no problem with the theory, though, and it does make rewatching Revenge of the Sith even more interesting. If you choose to believe it was true, great, but the reality is that Padme was never unfaithful to Anakin and that both Luke and Leia are his children.
