All About Daisy Ridley’s Husband, Tom Bateman

Actress Daisy Ridley is a well-known figure in the Star Wars universe, playing the powerful Rey, first introduced in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In a 2021 interview with Tatler, Ridley explained that the role changed how she approaches sharing her private and romantic life, saying, “When I signed on to Star Wars, there was nothing in my contract that said, ‘Your life will be talked about.’”

“It got to the point where I realized so much of my life was out there,” she continued. “I thought it would be nice to have something that’s for me, that isn’t for everybody else. I just thought I would keep that separate.”

Ridley has stuck to her decision, keeping her relationship with husband Tom Bateman very private. But Bateman is an actor as well, and in July 2025 he was cast in the film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis.

Why is this role so relevant to Ridley? It’s based on former Star Wars fan fiction by Ali Hazelwood. Her original story published on Ao3 was about Rey and her antagonist/ally, Kylo Ren, played in The Force Awakens by Adam Driver. Driver and Ridley had chemistry on screen and many fans “shipped” them as a romantic couple. Bateman has been cast as Adam Carlsen, originally based on Driver’s character.

The story has changed significantly since its first online publication and is now set in the world of a university. In the story, Professor Carlsen embarks on a fake relationship with PhD candidate Olive Smith, to be played by Lili Reinhart. Reinhart shared a TikTok about the casting notice in which she and Bateman are shaking hands as they agree on their phony love story (that might become real).

Fans are now even more curious about Bateman and his relationship with Ridley. Here’s everything to know so far.

Bateman is a British actor raised in Jericho, a suburb of Oxford. Both his parents were teachers and he has thirteen siblings and half-siblings, including a fraternal twin brother named Merlin, per his IMDB bio. Of his family, he told Above the Line in 2023, “It’s funny because people think it’s so crazy, but obviously whatever you grow up with is the norm. It doesn’t matter what extreme, bizarre circumstances you might grow up in; it’s normal for you. It’s when you sort of start stepping out into the world and people go, ‘Wait, you are one of 13.’ You go, ‘Oh, I suppose that is a bit different.’”

He studied at Cherwell School then joined the National Youth Theatre. He went on to study theater at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship. He has an extensive theater resume and was a member of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company.

He told Above the Line of LAMDA, “It was a really cool school. I mean, there are so many amazing drama schools in the U.K. I could only afford to apply to a couple of them, and LAMDA was one of them. I was so lucky to get in. It’s an amazing school.”

He also has a significant list of credits in film and television, including Peacock’s Based on a True Story, Beecham House, and Vanity Fair.

Both starred in Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, according to People. It is not clear when they started dating. Rumors of their relationship and engagement followed them for years before Ridley admitted in a January 2023 interview with Rolling Stone that they were officially married.

In a 2019 interview with Marie Claire, Ridley was asked about their rumored engagement, saying only, “It’s a really nice ring that I wear.”

“The thing Is, I’ve never talked about my personal life, so I won’t talk about it now,” she added. “I’m so aware of how much information about my life is out there, so if there’s one thing I don’t want to talk about.”

The couple has worked together since MOTOE on their 2024 film, Magpie. During the premiere at the SXSW festival, Bateman told CBR that Ridley is one of his “favorite actors.”

“Being able to write to what I know her strengths are was so rewarding,” he said. “I could be really daring and bold and write a whole scene with no dialogue and just her character’s thoughts. Sam [Yates] our director, he agreed. He said ‘Man you can just stick a camera on Daisy and she’s got it going and she can hold that.’”

“It was super, super rewarding,” he added.

Magpie is actually a thriller about a collapsing marriage, but during a press event, Ridley shared, “It’s funny, because people tell me and Tom that we’re the happiest married people they know.”

Per the Daily Mail, Ridley also told Radio Times, “I found that process wonderful because our tastes align on almost everything. I think he’s a brilliant writer, and we are so clear about what it is that we wanted to make. And we achieved that.”