3 minute readThe success of Fleabag brought new attention to creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, leading some fans to question her own personal life.
While the critically acclaimed show unabashedly talked about love and sex, the lead actress was a little more reserved when it came to talking about her real-life partner, playwright and director Martin McDonagh.
Here’s what you need to know about the two.
They have been dating for a while.
It was first announced in December 2017 that Waller-Bridge would be divorcing her husband, director Conor Woodman, and she was known to be dating McDonagh in recent years. According to Bustle, the two first started dating after she attended a screening of his film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The New York Times mentioned their relationship in a profile of Waller-Bridge, reporting that she said she had “no real interest” in sharing early drafts of her work with McDonough.
McDonagh and Waller-Bridge at the 2018 Academy Awards.
She is a fan of his work as a playwright.
In an interview with the Guardian, Waller-Bridge revealed that he had seen McDonagh’s play The Pillowman once before they started dating. She told the magazine, “It was the first play I saw that made me think that theater can be really exciting. Sometimes you need to see something like that. The kind of work that wakes you up and makes you say, ‘Of course you can do that,’ and gives your imagination permission to go to 17 million other places. That’s how I felt about his work.”
They keep their relationship fairly private.
However, when asked if he was the happiest he has ever been in a relationship, he answered, “I’m not going to talk about that,” and declined to discuss the details of the relationship. She also dodged questions about McDonough in a November 2019 Vogue cover interview. “I’ve always been brave in my writing career,” she explained when brushing off questions about past and present relationships.
Waller-Bridge and McDonough in 2019.
He is also an artist who has won numerous awards.
Waller-Bridge has collected trophies for both Fleabag and Killing Eve (nominated for two Globes), while McDonough is also a winner. He won an Oscar in 2006 for the short film Six Shooter and was nominated for Best Screenplay for In Bruges in 2008. Ten years later, he received two Oscar nominations for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, ultimately leading stars Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell to win Oscars for their performances.
Waller-Bridge sparked engagement rumors in September 2023.
In September 2023, Waller-Bridge attended her brother’s wedding wearing a large diamond ring on her left hand, sparking speculation that she was engaged to McDonough. She was photographed with McDonough at the ceremony. Both men did not officially confirm the news at the time.
The two were spotted together in London in February 2026.
In early February 2026, Waller-Bridge and McDonagh were photographed during a rare night out in London’s Soho. The couple was also spotted leaving a restaurant together, marking one of their few public appearances together.
Waller-Bridge wore a black tailored pantsuit with a blue shirt and tie, while McDonough wore a dark suit with a black shirt.
