Tom Hiddleston falls for Brit co-star Zawe Ashton after Taylor Swift split
ACTOR Tom Hiddleston has fallen for British co-star Zawe Ashton — his first high-profile romance since splitting from Taylor Swift.
The Night Manager star, 38, has been quietly dating the Fresh Meat actress, 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.
She and Tom met when cast in Harold Pinter play Betrayal, which received rave reviews in its London run from March to June.
The pair play a couple torn apart by the wife’s affair with the husband’s best friend.
Zawe has described in interviews how she, Tom and co-star Charlie Cox were having the “time of their lives” in the play.
The Sun revealed Tom and US singer Taylor, 29, were an item in June 2016 after they were seen snogging on a Rhode Island beach.
A month later, he was mocked for wearing an “I love TS” T-shirt he said he jokingly borrowed from one of her friends. He and Taylor split two months later.
On Friday night a source close to Tom and Zawe insisted they were just “close friends”. Representatives for the pair declined to comment.
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