Television
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ByBrandon Bombay
Fan know Hannah Waddingham from her roles on hit shows such as "Ted Lasso," "Sex Education," and "Game of Thrones," where the actor has drawn from real-life experiences to bring her characters to life.
In Season 1 of "Ted Lasso," Waddingham's Rebecca Welton was under the thumb of her abusive partner Rupert Mannion. That relationship dynamic was one that Waddingham had experienced in the past, and playing it out on camera was therapeutic. "The greatest thing about this job is that it has allowed me great catharsis from a controlling, verbally abusive relationship that I'd had," she revealed to Entertainment Weekly in July. "So when it got to those scenes in the gala, when [Rupert] is saying, 'Very brave choice' with the dress, I've had that in the past," Waddingham added.
While filming a particularly harrowing scene on "Game of Thrones" — in which Waddingham's Septa Unella was tortured — the actor had to endure simulated waterboarding that felt close to the real thing. "And there I was strapped to a wooden table with proper big straps for 10 hours," she told Collider in May. Waddingham compared it to another real-life experience. "And definitely, other than childbirth, it was the worst day of my life," she added. Although fans once mistook her "Thrones" co-star Lana Headey as Waddingham's partner, the actor had her child with a long-time boyfriend. Keep reading to find out more about her relationship with the father of her child.
Hannah Waddingham's partner is an accomplished hotelier
During a television interview in 2014, Hannah Waddingham revealed not only that she was pregnant, but that it came as a big surprise. The "Ted Lasso" star is usually guarded about her personal life, but she opened up about past fertility issues. "They kept telling me that my fertility was so low, it might not happen," she told TV host Lorraine Kelly (via the HuffPost). "I feel massively privileged and blessed. It feels more important than any other job I've had," she added.
Later that year, Waddingham gave birth to her daughter, whose father is the actor's long-time partner, Gianluca Cugnetto, per Yahoo! News. Cugnetto is in an entirely separate field from Waddingham, as he is a successful hotelier. According to his LinkedIn profile, Cugnetto specializes in makeovers and takeovers of high-end hotels, and has "extensive experience in driving business transformation, increasing multimillion turnover and delivering the highest client service excellence."
Similar to Waddingham, the hotelier travels a lot for work, as he spends as much as a year working on venues in various locales. Cugnetto was the general manager at Hotel Du Vin in the U.K. from 2015 until 2016, and then became the director of food and beverage at a hotel in Abu Dhabi in 2017. He followed those jobs with stops in Cyprus, Italy, and France.
Hannah Waddingham is private about posting
When Hannah Waddingham first gave birth to her daughter, whose name is unknown, she continued to work and would bring her on set. "Have baby, will travel! On set of 'Partners in Crime,'" the actor tweeted in December 2014 alongside a photo of her daughter feeding from a bottle.
Eventually, Waddingham had to leave her daughter behind as she traveled for work, which caused a life-changing moment when the child became "desperately ill" when Waddinghamwas away filming "Krypton." Fortunately, the little one recovered, but Waddingham decided she wants to always be able to reach her family in case of an emergency. "I cannot have a moment, ever again, where I can't get back to my child. She's my priority," she told the Daily Mail in March.
The actor only occasionally shares snaps of her partner, Gianluca Cugnetto, and their daughter. Following the child's health scare, Waddingham uploaded an adorable pic of her two loved ones to Instagram. "My baby all better. So grateful," she wrote in January 2019. The "Ted Lasso" star uploaded another snap to Instagram taken the same day, which showed Cugnetto carrying their daughter's scooter over his shoulder. "Sometimes you just need staff to carry your scooter," Waddingham cheekily wrote. On April 4, she shared another rare photo on Instagram of Cugnetto and their daughter as they walked down a path. To celebrate Easter, Cugnetto wore a pair of bunny ears on his head while holding his daughter's hand.
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