Tom Hiddleston ‘really has fallen’ for Zawe Ashton, ‘he’s ready to settle down’

Betrayal Opening Night Party - Arrivals.

I’ve been saying for months that I’ve gotten a vibe from Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton. They worked together (as costars) in Betrayal in London, and they’re currently doing the same play on Broadway, with the same director/cast/staging. Basically, Tom and Zawe have been working together closely, in an intense play, for much of this year. Close quarters. Familiarity. Comfort. Theatre vibes. Of course they got together. Of course they’ve been quietly dating this whole time. They’ve pretty much openly dated for a while too – they even went to US Open matches together and everything. But is it love? The Sun’s sources say YES.

Actor Tom Hiddleston is in his first romance since splitting from Taylor Swift. The Night Manager star, 38, has been quietly dating Zawe Ashton, 35, since February. The tennis fans were pictured sitting together at the US Open this week and popping to a New York bar after their play transferred from the West End to Broadway.

A source told The Sun: “Tom really has fallen for Zawe in a big way. 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. Tom and Zawe spent Easter together renovating his house in England. They now spend most weekends together and going for long walks with his dog. He thinks this could be the love of his life — he’s ready to settle down.”

Eton-educated Tom won a Golden Globe for the 2016 BBC series, and has played Loki in six Marvel movies and been linked to the James Bond role. In contrast Zawe was born in Hackney, East London, and appeared in Casualty, Holby City and The Bill.

[From The Sun]

I’m into it. I think Tom + Zawe makes sense. More sense than Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter, let’s be real (what’s up with them??). And I’m glad that Tom has a nice little lowkey romance this time around. I don’t think he’s actually “paranoid” about it – I mean, he and Zawe sat together in New York, at the US Open, in full view of cameras. I think he and Zawe probably waited several months before really “coming out” as a couple, but that’s how it SHOULD be. You shouldn’t announce your relationship on Insta after two dates, you know? Anyway, I hope they get married. Bridal dragonflies!!

Sea Wall / A Life Opening - Arrivals.

TENNIS : US Open 2019  - USA - 01/09/2019

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100 Responses to “Tom Hiddleston ‘really has fallen’ for Zawe Ashton, ‘he’s ready to settle down’”

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  1. BayTampaBay says:

    I love the long hair on Tom Hiddleston.

  2. Snowslow says:

    This makes me so happy, for some weird reason. She’s a girl crush of mine (a bit shattered by the awful Netflix thriller Velvet Buzzsaw) and I have a soft spot for him.

    • Boodiba says:

      I liked that movie, lol. I found it silly but entertaining.

      • weezle says:

        I liked it, too. I found it to be very entertaining (but I like supernatural-themed movies).

      • Snowslow says:

        The problem is that it was my job to work at a gallery for many years so it was both familiar in the beginning (loved it) and super silly afterwards and the art was BAD. Cannot have that much of a suspension of disbelief. And I hated Zawe’s usually flawless acting 🙁 I think that was the biggest bummer.

  3. Lina says:

    White British men really do not age well………

  4. Cidy says:

    I have a huge celebrity crush on her! Good for him.

  5. Other Renee says:

    As long as he doesn’t appear in public wearing an “I ❤️ ZA” t-shirt, I’ll be happy for them.

    • Leducduswaz says:

      To be fair, “I heart ZA” shirts are available at most souvenir shops in South Africa, so that wouldn’t really mean much… (our country code is ZA because Saudi Arabia got SA first, btw)

  6. Mia4s says:

    OK I guess they could make a good coup…

    “The Sun’s sources say…”

    …The Sun….The SUN?…Sigh…Guys, seriously.

    Let’s wait until something resembling an actual news organization with an ounce of integrity posts this. They could be dating, or they could have murdered 4 people and joined a cult (That will be next week’s Sun headline).

    • Samantha says:

      It sounds similar to Leo’s PR people and the articles that appear every time he has a movie coming out – Leo is ‘ready to settle down and have kids’ with under-25 Girl X of the moment, vanishes instantly as soon as the movie’s promotion is over, may reappear if it gets nominated for awards. They just recycle the same stories.
      I do think Tom Hiddleston is a nice guy though who got the bad end of the stick with the whole Snake Taylor thing. Either he was naive, or his publicist was.

      • Og says:

        Kind of different in that Zawe isn’t a 25 year old model, and Tom doesn’t have a string of 25 year old models he “wants to settle down with”.

    • Mei says:

      Yeah, or maybe they were responsible for the Hillsborough tragedy, since they loved to throw that one out there without basis at the time.

      Will never read the Sun, it’s barely even sold in the city of Liverpool to this day. Add to that list every sh*tty tabloid we have going here in the UK, no thanks. I prefer my news factually correct and without overtones of racism, xenophobia, misogyny and homophobia etc.

  7. EnnuiAreTheChampions says:

    I’m irreconcilably torn between “The Sun is a garbage source, and can we please stop assuming Hiddleston is dating every woman who comes within 5 yards of him?” and “Squeeeeeee I hope this is truuuuuuuue!!!”

    • Og says:

      Tbf, the Sun is actually more reliable than, say, OK or National Enquiet8on these stories. The Sun usually gets actual info whereas the others straight make shit up. Yes they’re all trashy, but celeb relationships aren’t announced in The Times… So there *is* a hierarchy of sorts for “trash but kinda legit” outlets.

      The Sun reported on Hiddleswift, Joe Alwyn, and Rita/Garfield if I remember correctly.

      This story is also quite different from the usual “papped with a random mystery brunette” articles we usually see him linked to. Those are just building a story and insinuating from photos. This one is outright stating its happening – something that’s only happened with Taylor, Lizzie Olsen etc.

      • EnnuiAreTheChampions says:

        @OG don’t make me turn off all my skeptical brain cells and switch entirely over to squee mode because so help me I’ll do it — they are cute as pie together.

      • Og says:

        Oh no, I’d remain skeptical if I were you – it’s not proven after all. I’m just offering a different perspective because there’s a lot of the classic denials going on which are valid points… But they don’t disprove it – an absence of pap photos isn’t proof of them not being a couple, just as it isn’t proof they are.

        Mainly I’m hoping it’s true because the amount of denial and pretzel twisting some people on tumblr are doing is making me roll my eyes.

      • Mia4s says:

        Awwww, a bit of caution is wise. Their play just opened on Broadway where it’s doing well (but a lot of room for improvement). A bit of harmless PR wouldn’t be surprising. And no bites from People or US Weekly? Admittedly Hiddleston is big but not that huge of a star; but generally new couples get press. We shall see.

        That Sun story though? Ugh. Nice to see their classism and racism lowered from totally overt to passive aggressive I guess. 🙄

      • EnnuiAreTheChampions says:

        @OG — TOO LATE; I’M ALL IN.

        (Kidding. Sort of.)

      • The Hench says:

        @Ennui – if I were you, I’d keep celebrating. Og is right, The Sun is a tabloid but solid enough to be the paper approved to launch the good ship Hiddleswift on those rocks in RI (come to think of it, launching anything on rocks is v bad idea…but I digress). Having broken that story and with the profile TH has, they would be, I think, pretty sure of their info before they wrote such a specific story about the fact that Tom and Zawe are dating, how long for etc.

        If they just wanted clickbait they could have run one of those stories that skirts the line with phrases like ‘are they dating’, ‘working together’, ‘seem to be getting very close’, ‘were a couple at the tennis’, ‘seen out together for the evening in NYC’ etc – all true and lined up to insinuate a relationship without actually committing to stating that the relationship is a fact. That they have stated it definitively says to me that they are sure of their sources – probably because their ‘source’ is one of either Tom or Zawe’s official camp.

        By the same token, if they are NOT dating, given the insanity of many of TH’s fans and his apparent concern for ladies in his orbit being mistaken for his girlfriend, I would expect to see this officially denied pretty swiftly. If it isn’t, I say it’s on and good luck to them.

      • Justme says:

        The Sun also broke the story of Taylor and her “one true love” Joe Alwyn.

      • Alice says:

        @OG
        He never dated Olsen so that’s not proving Sun’s credibility in the least, on the contrary. With Swift ot was well backed up before The Sun.

  8. TQ says:

    I like them together. WIth their mutual theatre chops they seem well suited.

    Note The Sun’s racist undertones in the coverage — as if the Black woman from Hackney isn’t also classically trained with a killer theatre CV. Not to mention her grandfather was the FORMER PRESIDENT OF UGANDA. FFS.

    • EnnuiAreTheChampions says:

      Ugh, you’re right. I just skimmed the blurb the first time and didn’t pick up on “In contrast…”. Oof.

      • Og says:

        The British press are trash, as always. Of course a mixed race woman from Hackney is so shocking *eye roll*

    • Snowslow says:

      “In contrast” was a really really nasty way of putting it, but so not unexpected considering the source.

    • BlueSky says:

      Yeah I caught that. “In contrast….” 🙄🙄

    • Jamie says:

      Yeah, I caught that too. Gross.

    • Abby says:

      “In contrast” got me too. grrr.

    • KatMatz says:

      Yes, the “in contrast” was really despicable. Racist is how I read it…

    • Nantondo says:

      TQ : Well done for raising that issue of The Sun labelling Zawe Ashton as the girl from Hackney in East London. This is The Sun showing its snobbish attitude, social discrimination and racist undertones!
      The Sun seriously omitted to mention that Harold Pinter, Britain’s most celebrated playwright and who wrote the play of ‘Betrayal’ that brought Hiddleston and Ashton together, was originally from Hackney and studied at Hackney Downs School!

  9. Nanea says:

    They look good together.

    If this is true, and not some harmless PR put out by the agency that reps both of them to test the waters a day or two after the official opening of Betrayal, I’m happy for them, as they seem to have friends and interests in common.

    It’s strange though that neither People nor US have picked it up yet.

    And it’s strange that the agency that seems to camp out at his London place never saw her coming or going, as there were regular sightings of Tom going out running with his dog.

    • Og says:

      The sightings weren’t hugely regular, though. Maybe once or twice a week tops we’d get photos, usually of him walking his dog early in the morning or in the evening. So theoretically that leaves 90% of his time each week unaccounted for. Look at him and Lizzie Olsen, they were papped once, and social media sightings over a year were maybe 5. Not many.

      • Og says:

        Lightpurple, please stop being in denial. Yeah, Lizzie denied anything was happening on the red carpet. Then she went to visit him in Hawaii and was seen holding habds/arms round each other in LA.

        I don’t know why you’re so keen to deny any possibility of him dating these women. No wonder Lizzie lied,some fans are crazy.

      • chameleon says:

        The actress from Wallender set for 3 years, Kat Dennings from Avengers, Jessica Chastain who flew to London, Liz Olsen, easy pickins on a set, can he date someone outside or in the biz of the industry – maybe he does not have the skills or is uncomfortable…..ZA I’m sure is not a choice and should not be as it all overshadows the play, which is not doing that well here, his Loki fandom is not going to pay that kind of money to see him in a play, NY Comic Con is coming up, that is their speed – and she should run anyway after his history – and he needs to stop overshadowing the play/work, if this is true!

  10. Tw says:

    Ooohhhh I like this couple!!

    On a side note, the US Open can be a humid, sweaty affair. I can’t imagine sitting in that green dress and not ending up with embarrassing sweat stains. Some materials just can’t be worn in NYC humidity. She looks beautiful in it though!

    I wonder if celebs wear certain things when they know they’re being filmed or photographed and then change. Remember that photo last year when the Jonas’s and their girlfriends were totally overdressed for the weather? I think Priyanka Chopra was wearing a sweatshirt. And I think the same when I see Ariana Grande snapped in NY in thigh high boots and a flannel and I know it was like 90 degrees that day.

  11. I’ve always really liked all the women he has dated publicly over the years, with one notable exception. You all know who.

    He seems to genuinely like intelligent, authentic women and I love that about him.

  12. Guest says:

    “On Friday night a source close to Tom and Zawe insisted they were just “close friends”. Representatives for the pair declined to comment.”

  13. Lightpurple says:

    Zawe was living with a boyfriend in the spring so I’ll wait to hear something more concrete. And, he is still married to me. But I do think they would make an interesting couple. She seems really cool, writes poetry and plays.

    • Og says:

      How do you know she was living with a boyfriend? I see this repeated, mainly on trash gossip tumblr who are in denial about Tom dating women who aren’t them, so an actual reliable source would be nice.

      • Chef Grace says:

        Links other than fan girl talk. I have not seen one story of her living with a BF. And spring is well past.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Excuse me, chef grace, but I do not frequent “fan girl talk” sites.

      And, OG, I don’t care who he dates so long as it is an adult.

      • Og says:

        If you don’t frequent fan girl sites, where did you hear about this boyfriend then? I’m genuinely curious because from your comments here and on previous threads do sound an awful lot like talking points I’ve seen on tumblr blogs.

      • Chef Grace says:

        I don’t care what sites you visit. LOL. I just want to know where the info is at. 😃
        The interviews of Zawe’s that are out there that I have read, seem to say she does not confirm any BF. Can’t blame her. Especially if she is dating TH. His loyal fans are always in denial it seems.😃

      • Lightpurple says:

        In an interview she gave about stuff she was doing (her plays, poetry, shows she was working on) in a British magazine or newspaper months ago. Sorry I didn’t bother to save the link because I didn’t expect to be falsely accused and insulted months later of being a Tumblr Stan.

    • Justme says:

      She was living with a boyfriend in 2016 – she had just bought a flat with her film distributor boyfriend about whom she did not want to speak (but was probably Oli Harbottle) https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/16/zawe-ashton-always-play-extreme-characters-fresh-meat. However she now seems to spend her time in Margate (although she did say she had to pay for rent both in London and Margate during the recent West End run – so did she sell the flat?). Mr Harbottle was not in evidence at her book launch so maybe they broke up? She refuses now to say anything about her private life or whether she is in a relationship ( Bravo Zawe). So it really is up in the air. This report may be right (the renovation of his house seems oddly specific, especially since there are rumors he recently bought a house in Hampshire). Or they might be absolutely not true.

  14. lily says:

    Zawe Ashton is absolutely hilarious in Fresh Meat, I love her!

  15. JanetFerber says:

    Lina, he has aged extraordinarily well. Like a fine wine. I do love them as a couple. I would love to see them together forever. Gorgeous times 100.

    • Nantondo says:

      JanetFerber just nailed it. Hiddleston looks great at all times and definitely ageing is an irrelevant issue. To quote Oscar Wilde : “AGEING IS “IRRESISTABLE”.
      Tom and Zawe make a fantastic couple.
      Hiddleston seems a really nice guy wth natural warmth and a kind heart. Not many famous people will sign autographs for fans then pose for selfies like I saw Hiddleston do at the Pinter theatre in London.

  16. SJR says:

    He is so good looking in these photos, the longer ginger hair suits him.
    Tall, shoulders and legs for days, actual acting talent, his lovely British accent, cute as hell when he laughs/smiles…yup, Team TH.
    If they are involved, more power to them. Everything seems inside out in the years under Trump..If happiness is taking place anywhere = good!

  17. Chef Grace says:

    What ALWAYS makes me stop and ponder is the ‘ready to settle down’ comments in these stories as with the ever present ‘source close to…’.
    I do hope it is true. They look good together.

  18. JanetFerber says:

    SJR, I totally agree with you.

  19. Valiantly Varnished says:

    I REALLY want this to be true and to happen. That is all.

  20. Mrs. Darcy says:

    Zawe is way too cool for him, love her in everything I have seen her in (dating back to Fresh Meat). Didn’t he date the non twin Olsen after Taylor Swift?

    • Valiantly Varnished says:

      Nope. That was long before and it was never confirmed that they actually dated.

    • smcollins says:

      Before Taylor, actually. I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Zawe before coverage of the play began and all the dating rumors so I’m not familiar with her work, but she is gorgeous and they look cute together. I approve of this pairing (if true) 😉

  21. Penguin says:

    She is beautiful, and he looks like an interesting nerd. I do hope it’s true, she’s so much more his style than you know who

  22. Ninette says:

    I hope it is true. I am ready for Hiddlesbabies!

    • Justme says:

      What struck me was that if they did marry and have children those kids would have the longest legs imaginable. Because Zawe is one long lithe woman! And she is both intelligent and gorgeous. But who knows?

      • Lightpurple says:

        But his mom is short. You never know who will get the height and who won’t. My family is a mixture of very tall people and very short people.

      • The Hench says:

        So true. One of my uncles is barely five foot eight and the other one is six foot five!

  23. kerwood says:

    Not a huge fan of his and I’m scared for her. He has very ‘devoted’ fans and I’d hate to see another Black woman experience what the Duchess of Sussex is enduring. From what I understand, Cumberbatch’s wife had to deal with a lot of shit, and she’s White.

  24. Cay says:

    “Tom and Zawe spent Easter together renovating his house in England. They now spend most weekends together and going for long walks with his dog.”

    Is this today’s idea of a hot, steamy romance – renos and dog walking? Sounds like what most of us do on weekends with our friends.

  25. Lilith says:

    Whoa, a grazing reference to Cumberbatch and spouse. I remember how the freaks came out of the woodwork when those two got together. What a click-thirsty crapshow this place was.

  26. TheKenoshaKid says:

    Hiddlebilly will be an absolute LEGE if he marries Vod.

  27. sparker says:

    if this is true then he’s totally redeemed himself from being a fatuous blowhard in my books, if not then it’s damn clever publicity. It’s probably the latter, my girls are so trendy right now….

  28. chsmeleon says:

    TH seems to fall for all if his co stars, in every movie he has done, etc. This is sophmoric emotional behavior…I dont think he is ready for long term, this is nit a good match if it is at all true, you all just want to be politically correct. She needs to contemplate his past emotional behaviors, when the play is over, which is NOT sold out in NYC, we shall see. Dont think so…consider the source, and I hope not.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Broadway is the land of musicals. Dramas don’t tend to sell out there in advance. You can still get tickets easily for To Kill a Mockingbird with Jeff Daniels and Sea Wall with Jake Gyllenhaal. Forbes says Betrayal is doing fine by Broadway standards for a drama in a season where other plays are shuttering for lack of sales.

    • Justme says:

      I don’t think he has fallen for all his costars. There were rumors about Jessica Chastain, which were quelched. Nothing about Mia Wasikowska or Elizabeth Debicki (aside from some people shipping the latter because they looked so good together). Certainly nothing about Brie Larson. So it comes down to Lizzie Olsen and yeah they seem to have had “something” or other. But is is hardly a pattern.

  29. MsIam says:

    Good for them! Those pictures certainly imply more than just “friends on an outing”. Some definite date vibes seem to be going on.

  30. Lisa says:

    If true they are cute. I don’t blame him for keeping things as quiet as possible after Taylor.

  31. Ninette says:

    I wonder if it will last when he starts filming Loki….

  32. BC says:

    I call the wedding to be in summer next year. Seriously though, i think this is legit. Hiddleston probably is tired of the game, esp after the whole Taylor affair, he just wants to retire. And shes 35. Its a point you both know what you want. It may even be a chilled out, boring romance, but it may feel right and thats the vybe im getting. That they are just mature adults who are ready to usher in a more grown chapter. Am i projecting much?

  33. Savannah says:

    They’re not really affectionate with each other, are they?

    And “his first romance since Taylor”, how would they know that?! He could’ve quietly dated without anyone knowing…

  34. Dara says:

    They had me until the bit about home renovations. I love the guy, but I imagine he’s not that handy around the house and changing out an empty toilet paper roll is probably the most complex home improvement project he has ever undertaken. Did The Sun not see him try, and fail, to operate a screwdriver in the monkey movie?

  35. robo-girl says:

    Sorry, I’m just not buying it. It makes sense they would hang out because they have been doing this play forever. I like them both, but eh. I just don’t see it

  36. Fanny says:

    Just for giggles, I advise ALL of you to review the comments on the first Celebitchy’s post announcing the “launching” of TIDDLES.
    The comments on this post were PRICELESS , and also help remind us how far Tom has come from his Taylor days.

  37. Guest says:

    From all the inaccuracies from the article I wouldn’t believe a thing. First, Tom said he knew Zawe for many years before the original event in October, so they didn’t meet last spring. 2nd, the pics from the “speakeasy” are from Aug 12 and Charlie and the black bodyguard (Tom’s?) were with them, so not after the Sept. 1st US Open as stated, but I guess it doesn’t serve their point to add them in the story. 3rd, Eddy the waiter from the play was with Tom and Zawe the first time they went to the Open, but not serving their story again…

    And just my personal bit, but the Sun broke Hiddleswift because they were tippep by her team, not because they’re good at gossip. There were many articles after how celebs call the paps to get “info” out, and that she’s known to call them regularly. Same with Joe, there were tweets from a pap who blabbed and got mad at TS for calling him for the pics of them on her balcony as he was promessed an exclusivity and when he got there there were like 10 other paps and it made him lose exclusive pics of Infinity War in Atlanta.

    I can’t tell if they’re dating or not because I’m crap at that sort of things, but I’ll wait for more proofs than the Sun saying so…….

    • Justme says:

      I agree thst Zawe and Tom have known one another for many years. However one thing – it was The Sun which broke the Joe Alwyn/Taylor Swift news. That was in May 2017. The pap in Atlanta was looking to get the first pic of them together- in June – but that was after the Sun’s exclusive. Otherwise, nobody would have even known who Joe Alwyn was – let alone try to get a pic of him on a balcony in Nashville.

      • robo-girl says:

        That was likely a tip from Taylor.

      • Guest says:

        If anything Hiddleswift thaugh me is that when TS is involved, “exclusive” means it’s from her camp. The Joe “exclusive” was from her, and she followed with pics to keep the story going, because god knows she keeps her stories going for as long as she can squeeze the sh*t out of them. She needed to get back in the media for the roll out of Rep the following fall. It wouldn’t have made any sense for her to sing about having a secret love better than Tom and Calvin if we didn’t know about him. Predictable af and honestly I don’t get how people haven’t caught up with her moves yet.

    • maxine ducamp says:

      I adore Tom and Zawe seems like a cool, intelligent, talented person. On paper, they seem like a great match and may very well be in real life (but I don’t know either of them, sadly, so what do I–or any of us–really know?). I’m with the “it would be great if true but I’m in the this is nothing more than speculation and clickbait” camp at this point.

      There was an interview that was quoted in a NY Post article where Zawe said that the staff at the Pinter theatre in London jokingly nicknamed her, Charlie, and Tom “the Throuple” because they spent so much time together off stage. Charlie is married and has a child, so it would make sense that he wouldn’t always go out with them and that Tom and Zawe would go out alone together, which wouldn’t necessarily mean that they are romantically involved. An unnamed Sun source doesn’t prove anything (at least to me). But like @Guest, I’m crap at guessing at these sort of things.

  38. Andrea says:

    I think once there is hand holding I will believe it.

  39. CL says:

    The Sun was the first media covered about this, so… I don’t really buy it since it’s a tabloid. Charlie was also with them at the speakeasy night, and you can find him in some other photos, but seems that The Sun just “ignored and skipped” those photos. As for the US Open, another staff from Betrayal was also there, not just Tom and Zawe, and apparently, this is another truth The Sun choose not to mention. As for the “Easter Holiday”, which was during Betrayal’s run in the West End in London, which means Tom and Zawe both had to do the show during Easter, so seriously I don’t know how they could “spent Easter together renovating his house in England” while doing the show at the same time.