Hannah Waddingham Found Love Again After Waiting Years for 'Right Person'

Hannah Waddingham has shared details about her relationship with her boyfriend, spinal surgeon Nicolas Beresford-Cleary, stating that she was "waiting and waiting and waiting for the right person." The actress, 52, spoke about her new romance in a recent interview with Heat magazine, describing her partner as "not too shabby" and emphasizing that there is no need to rush when it comes to finding true love.

Waddingham revealed that her patience has been rewarded, noting, "I mean, he's not too shabby! I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the right person. But yeah, you don't have to rush. Eventually, they'll be along."

Nicolas Beresford-Cleary is a consultant spine surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and King Edward VII Hospital. His specialty includes both elective and emergency spinal surgeries. He initially pursued a career in mechanical engineering at UCL before transitioning to medicine, obtaining a medical degree from Edinburgh University and completing specialist Trauma and Orthopaedic training in Oxford.

This is Waddingham's first relationship since the end of her long-term relationship with Gianluca Cugnetto eight years ago. She previously shared in May that she and Beresford-Cleary were in a relationship. Waddingham became a single mother after her relationship with Cugnetto ended when their daughter was two years old. She had remained focused on her daughter, Kitty, for eight years before feeling ready for a new relationship.

"It's taken me eight years," Waddingham told Women's Health earlier this year. "I didn't really have the space mentally or emotionally for that. I've hunkered down and focused on my girl and me. [But] now I'm ready to stick my head above the parapet a bit more."

She confirmed that her current relationship is "really lovely" and that the most important aspect is "being happy and strong in myself."

Waddingham has not publicly disclosed the reasons for the end of her relationship with Italian hotelier Gianluca Cugnetto. The couple had been together for over a decade and were rumored to be engaged before their split. At the time, Waddingham described the breakup as feeling like "the rug was pulled from underneath me," but added that she had to "make the decision not to be weakened by it." She recounted feeling as though her daughter and she were "on an upturned dustbin lid, like a flying saucer, holding on for dear life – until the waters were calmer!" Despite their relationship ending, Waddingham stated that she remains on good terms with her daughter's father.