Zawe Ashton is officially part of the MCU — or, she will be when The Marvels arrives later this year.
The 38-year-old appeared in the recently released teaser for the November 2023 flick, and the brief glimpse of her incoming character instantly sparked discussions. Little is known about which character she’s set to portray — our bets are on General Dar-Benn — but hype is already high for Ashton’s official MCU debut.
Given her bare presence in the Marvels teaser, paired with her consistent, but often under-the-radar, previous roles, many MCU fans are just learning of Ashton now. That means they’re also just now learning of her history with Tom Hiddleston, a longtime favorite among fans of the cinematic universe.
Are Zawe Ashton and Tom Hiddleston married?
Tom Hiddleston has been a staple of the MCU since Thor first arrived in 2011. He established himself as a fan favorite in the next year’s The Avengers, and gradually wormed his way into even stubborn fan hearts through his next handful of appearances across other Thor and Avengers movies, as well as his own dedicated Disney Plus show. At this point, his name is just as recognizable as Robert Downey Jr.’s among fans of the franchise, and his partner — Zawe Ashton — may be set to join him in the MCU’s history books.
Hiddleston and Ashton haven’t tied the knot quite yet, but the two are engaged to be married. They worked to keep their dating life under wraps ahead of the quiet, private engagement in March 2022. They reportedly dated for three years before Hiddleston popped the question, after meeting in 2019 during their West End run of Betrayal, which the pair starred in together alongside fellow MCU staple Charlie Cox. Within a few months, they were living together in Atlanta, Georgia, and a few years later rumors of their engagement were swirling. They finally confirmed their plans to marry in the Spring of 2022, just a few months before Ashton revealed that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
In June 2022, Ashton subtly announced her pregnancy during the red carpet premiere of Mr. Malcolm’s List – where she showed off her growing bump. Their bundle of joy officially arrived in October of 2022, according to Us Weekly, and they’ve been happily traversing the trials and joys of parenthood ever since.
There’s no word yet on when the pair intend to tie the knot, but that’s really no surprise. They’ve been protective of their private lives from the start, and that’s not likely to change now. Most likely, they’ll quietly marry in a mostly-secret ceremony at some point later this year — once parenthood gets a bit easier — and the fans will learn about it after the fact. They’re entirely entitled to their privacy, particularly in these moments of joy, and we’re just happy to hear that the MCU has a new power couple. Maybe Loki and Dar-Benn will even enjoy an on-screen moment or two in the future of the franchise.