Phoebe Waller-Bridge Has Spoken About Her Relationship With Boyfriend Martin McDonagh For The First Time

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the notoriously publicity-shy creator of Fleabag, has spoken about her relationship for the first time in a new interview with Vanity Fair.

Waller-Bridge started dating Irish-English playwright Martin McDonagh, who directed the acclaimed Oscar-winning film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in 2017 and has remained tight-lipped on their romance — until now.

Having been a fan of McDonagh’s work, which also includes credits on the films Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges, long before she met him, Waller-Bridge admitted that the reverence she feels for him in their relationship encourages her own work. 'It's really useful being with someone who I think is a genius, it just ups your game,' she remarked. 'I would always have wanted Martin McDonagh to think of my work as good, whether I was with him or not. I will find out now, either way!'

Asked whether criticism would be demoralising, the actor replied: 'Probably a bit of that. And also, I just really, really fancy him. So if you show someone something, and you fancy them, it can become this blur.'

The couple made their red carpet debut together in October 2017, when they attended a screening of Three Billboards, and appeared together again at the Golden Globes in 2018, where they shared a celebratory kiss after McDonagh won Best Screenplay and Best Drama.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Martin McDonagh at the 2018 Golden Globes.

Waller-Bridge was previously married to Irish director Conor Woodman. The couple tied the knot in 2014 but announced their separation in 2017, with their divorce finalised last year.

Elsewhere in the interview, Waller-Bridge also discussed her recent exit from the Amazon series Mr & Mrs Smith.

'I worked on that show for six months fully in heart and mind and really cared about it – still care about it,' she said. 'And I know it’s gonna be brilliant. But sometimes it’s about knowing when to leave the party. You don’t want to get in the way of a vision.'

After saying that creative collaboration is 'like a marriage', she added: 'And some marriages don’t work out.'