Martin Freeman headed out to the premiere of his latest series, Seven Dials, at the Curzon on Thursday evening, and he was joined by his French girlfriend, Rachel Benaissa, 31, and the son he shares with Amanda Abbington, Joe Freeman, 19.
Martin looked incredibly suave for the outing, wearing a blue pinstripe suit with a coloured tie, while his son matched his father in a swanky black pinstripe suit. Meanwhile, Rachel looked stunning in a plaid outfit.
The couple were first linked in 2020, before they went public with their romance the following year. Despite their 23-year age gap, in 2025, Martin revealed their shared passion during an appearance on Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast.
When asked about her kitchen habits, Martin revealed: “She’s not a Cordon Bleu. She’s a massive cheese and wine [expletive]. That’s what she would say about herself. She says that about herself, ‘I’m a cheese and wine [expletive].’ It’s not all she is, but no, she loves all that stuff. We like cooking.”
Martin didn’t reveal what he liked to make in the kitchen, but he did say that he stayed away from certain foods, including sashimi.
He explained: “I believe in specialities, and I believe in people’s specialism, and I think, well, in the same way that I’m not going to get in your territory and make your album, yeah, I’m not going to start trying to do sashimi in the same way, like, that’s what that restaurant’s for.”
Martin and Rachel’s relationship
It’s thought that the couple have been dating for around four years after crossing paths in 2020. While they have been happily pictured together on red carpet events, they mostly keep their personal lives to themselves.
It seems Rachel has built up a jovial bond with Martin’s children as she joined them at the premiere for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022.
Like Martin, Rachel is in the acting world and has appeared in the likes of BBC drama Normal People and Aisling Bea’s Channel 4 comedy This Way Up. In 2023, she also featured in the Netflix Christmas movie Irish Wish, starring Lindsay Lohan as its lead.
Martin’s son Joe
Martin’s eldest is also an actor, and he landed his first starring role last year, fronting Amazon Prime’s The Institute, which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
© Chris Reardon/MGM+Speaking to HELLO! last year, Joe opened up about how his famous parents helped him prepare for the role. He told us: “I did my self-tape with mum, and they were telling me, ‘This is not guaranteed. Chances are this won’t happen for you.’ They’ve been in the industry and they know rejection.
“I didn’t think this was going to happen because I’m a British kid, and this is an American project; I’ve never acted professionally there was no reason [for it to happen].”
Read the full article here
