Who Is Tom Hardy’s Wife? Here's Everything You Need to Know About English Actress Charlotte Riley

True love and lasting relationships among the world of A-list celebrities are rare, if not impossible. It's even more rare that an onscreen romance turns into a real-life off-screen romance. However, when it comes to couples like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and Tom Hardy and his wife, Charlotte Riley, that's exactly what happened. 

While you might think of Hardy as a rugged actor most often found in superhero and wartime movies, he's also a loving father and husband. Below we break down all we know about Hardy and Riley's love story.

They Met in 2009

Like many Hollywood actors, the pair met on the set of the TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which they were filming together in 2009. In the film, the duo played fictional lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. While things heated up on set, Hardy stated they were just friends at the time. And according to Riley, when she first met Hardy it wasn't exactly love at first sight. 

“It wasn’t love at first cup. In fact, I was a bit unnerved when he suddenly switched into the persona of Charles Bronson [an infamous British criminal who Tom had just played in Bronson],” she told The Daily Mail in 2013. “After a few cups of tea, I realized it was something he did mainly to make people laugh.” 

Just a year after the two met, Hardy proposed to Riley. As the adage goes, when you know you know. The couple's engagement lasted four years with Hardy stating Riley was "a difficult woman to pin down." In an interview with Elle in 2012 Hardy responded to his original comment adding "I can wait for her as long as it takes."

On July 4, 2014, the couple married in a low-key ceremony at the Chateau de Roussan in the South of France.

"It was a beautiful, low-key day made even more special because they just had their closest friends and family around them," a source told The Sun. "Tom's son Louis played a key role during the ceremony and they made certain to pick a stunning and private setting." 

"There was nothing flash about the wedding," the source added. "They always said they wanted it to be about the two of them and their family rather than any grand gesture."

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She's an English Actor, Too

While Riley is not quite a household name like her husband, Hardy, she's definitely been in some notable films. She's most often recognized from her role as Cathy in Wuthering Heights, but she's also been featured in Peaky Blinders, Dark Heart, King Charles III, In The Heart of the Sea, London Has Fallen, and Grand Street.

Both Riley and Hardy grew up in the UK but their beginnings were very different. While Hardy struggled with drug and alcohol abuse as early as 11, Riley was a studious teen. From ages nine to 18, she attended Teesside High School before heading to the Cuthbert's Society in Durham, where she performed in plays and musicals before graduating with a degree in English and Linguistics. Once she graduated, she moved to London to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). One year after graduating from LAMDA she landed her role in Wuthering Heights. 

She's a Mother

Since tying the knot in 2014, Riley and Hardy have welcomed two children into their growing family. Riley and Hardy have been very intentional about keeping their children's identities (name and gender included) hidden. 

In an interview with Esquire in 2018, Hardy talked of the difficulties of keeping him and his family out of the public eye,

“It’s like spotting a giraffe walking down the street. I get it,” he said. “I can see people’s behaviour, I can see when a camera’s coming, I can see when a phone is moving, I can see people’s body language. There is no difference between that and a weapon, the hyper-vigilance. It’s just odd. I’m cool with that. But [pictures of my] kids are a f**king no. They really are. And that’s what really bothers me, and it will fast-track me immediately to respond like any father in any situation, regardless of where they come from and what they’ve been through.”

She Started a Childcare Company

An issue many actresses and actors face in Hollywood is finding childcare that keeps their kids close to them while on set. While many A-listers seemingly have no issue handing their kids over to a trusted nanny, Riley wanted to give people the opportunity to have children close to where they work, especially because traditional nurseries aren't often an option for people with the kinds of schedules actors and producers have. So, she created Wonderworks, a daycare for children of parents in the industry. 

“We have so many people, particularly women, who’ve got to their mid-thirties, want to have children, but have gone, ‘Oh my God, I’m literally about to direct my first film.’ Then they have to choose and that’s all kinds of wrong," she said in an interview with The Times in 2021. 

 “What often tends to happen is that we’re so grateful to be working that we’re, like, ‘Yeah, I’d love the job. Thank you so much.’ And then you go home and go, ‘Shi*, how am I going to make this work?’ she added. 

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