Look who’s in a huddle with Hiddy
Night Manager star Tom falls for Fresh Meat actress Zawe
HE IS one of Britain’s biggest heartthrobs – yet somehow Tom Hiddleston has spent the past three years as a single man since his high-profile split from pop icon Taylor Swift.
But yesterday it emerged that the Night Manager and Avengers star has now finally found new love – with actress Zawe Ashton.
Their relationship started when they played husband and wife on the West End stage. And now they have travelled to New York together as the show – the Harold Pinter play Betrayal – recently transferred to Broadway.
Tom, 38, and Zawe, the 35-year-old star of the Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat, were seen gazing into each other’s eyes when they attended the US Open tennis tournament in recent days.
It is understood that the pair have been seeing one another for some time, but Hiddleston has been keen to keep the relationship quiet, determined to avoid the sort of attention he attracted when he dated Swift.
‘They’ve actually been together for more than six months. But he is so paranoid about his private life since his relationship with Taylor that he has gone to great lengths to keep this under wraps,’ said a source. ‘He thinks this could be the love of his life – he’s ready to settle down.’
Ashton was born in Hackney, East London, and appeared in Casualty, Holby City and The Bill but made her name in Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat.
Eton-educated Hiddleston – who has been tipped as a future James Bond – dated Swift, who is nine years his junior, for several months in 2016.
But the high-profile nature of their relationship made the actor more cautious about his private life.
He said in a recent interview: ‘Yes, I’m protective about my internal world now in probably a different way. That’s because I didn’t realise it needed protecting before.’
Hiddleston was previously in a relationship with actress Susannah Fielding from 2008 to 2011.