Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley met in 2008 when they co-starred as famous lovers Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights. It was a British TV adaptation of the famous novel, a romantic period piece that teased Hardy’s leading man qualities and highlighted his chemistry with Riley. But at the time, Hardy’s ability to switch into another violent, scary character left Riley feeling “unnerved.”
Tom Hardy met Charlotte Riley while he was expecting a child with director Rachael Speed
When Hardy and Riley met on the set of Wuthering Heights, he was in a relationship with The Virgin Queen director Rachael Speed. They had been together for five years, and she was actually pregnant with Hardy’s first child. But, according to The Things, the actor quickly started to develop feelings for his co-star.
While working together, Hardy and Riley started going on coffee dates. The speculation is that Hardy cheated on the pregnant Speed with Riley before breaking things off for good. However, Riley says they took things slowly because she had her doubts about him.
Charlotte Riley admits she was ‘unnerved’ when Tom Hardy ‘switched’ into character for ‘Bronson’
Around the same time that Hardy played Heathcliff, he also landed his breakout role in the film Bronson. The British biopic was about the United Kingdom’s most dangerous criminal, a man named Charles Bronson –and Hardy was incredibly convincing and absolutely magnificent in the role.
However, his ability to transform into such a frightening character nearly prevented him from winning Riley over.
“It wasn’t love at first cup. In fact, I was a bit unnerved when he switched into Charles Bronson [Britain’s most dangerous criminal whom Hardy portrayed in the biopic Bronson],” Riley said, per The Daily Mail. “After a few cups of tea I realized it was something he did mainly to make people laugh.”
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The couple secretly got married in 2014
Even if the origins of Hardy and Riley’s relationship were a bit scandalous, it appears that Speed is okay with how everything turned out. She gave birth to her and Hardy’s son Louis before they split in 2009, and she was one of the few guests at Hardy and Riley’s wedding five years later.
The Venom star secretly married Riley in a low-key Château de Roussan wedding in France in 2014. They continue to keep their relationship extremely private, but every once in a while, they will appear on a red carpet together or mention each other in interviews.
Per Hola!, Hardy once said of his wife, “Aw, she‘s pure. She’s just a very kind, pure person,”
Rumor has it that despite the tough roles that Hardy is known for, he’s actually quite the romantic. When he and Riley have to spend time apart for work, they reportedly write love letters to each other.
Hardy and Riley have now been happily married for eight years, and they share two children of their own — a son and a daughter.
Wuthering Heights is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Hardy and Riley also starred together in the series Peaky Blinders, which is available on Netflix.
