Richard Osman admits meeting his wife Ingrid Oliver was ‘the best thing that ever happened to him’ as he reveals how his debilitating eye condition affects his writing

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Richard Osman shared his affection for his wife, Ingrid Oliver, calling meeting her the greatest moment of his life.

The author, who is 54, and the actress, 48, first met in 2021 when she was a guest on his BBC show, House of Games. They then got married in 2022.

Richard told Saga Magazine that meeting Ingrid was the most wonderful thing in his life, and he shared details about their relationship.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world with this job. While I don’t mind solo trips, it’s much more enjoyable when my wife comes along – sharing new experiences, meeting different people, and seeing amazing places with her is the best part.

He mentioned that Ingrid was moved to tears after finishing his newest book, ‘The Impossible Fortune,’ part of the Thursday Murder Club series.

He explained that Ingrid does read books, but she insists they’re perfectly polished first. She prefers to focus on enjoying the story itself, rather than getting distracted by errors like a missing comma.

She finished reading ‘The Impossible Fortune’ this morning and called me while she was crying-happy tears! She really loved the book.

Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club novels have become a huge hit, with over 10 million copies sold worldwide.

The first book in the series was recently made into a Netflix movie featuring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.

The Impossible Fortune – the fifth in the series – is set to be released on September 25.

Richard shared that his nystagmus sometimes makes it challenging to write his mystery novels.

Nystagmus is an involuntary eye movement condition, which can cause reduced or limited vision.

Richard described how his condition affects his work. While he doesn’t consider writing a physically demanding job, his books are lengthy. Because of his nystagmus, he has to sit very close – just five or six inches – to the screen, even with the text size increased.

Writing is a really focused thing for me. I see people working on their laptops everywhere – on planes, in coffee shops – but honestly, I need a specific environment. I do almost all my writing in my home office, where I’ve got everything exactly how I like it. And, of course, no writing session is complete without my essentials: a cup of mint tea and some dried mango slices!

I was so surprised to hear Richard talk about how long he’d secretly liked Ingrid Oliver! Apparently, he was completely smitten with her for a whole year before they actually met while filming House Of Games. It’s a really sweet story, honestly!

He explained to The Sunday Times that he knew Ingrid through social media and always found her amusing, but they had only interacted once – with a single tweet – before this.

I reached out to our friend, comedian Lou Sanders, to see if Ingrid was free, but she wasn’t. A year later, in 2021, Ingrid appeared as a contestant on my quiz show, House of Games.

Lou let me know Ingrid was free, which meant I spent the whole day filming and really trying to avoid appearing interested in her. I definitely made less eye contact with her than with anyone else there.

Richard, who already had two children from a previous relationship, was working on overcoming a food addiction and improving his self-image with the help of therapy. Despite these challenges, he hadn’t given up on finding someone special, and eventually, he met Ingrid.

He remembered feeling content with his life and career, but his therapist pointed out that he wouldn’t truly feel complete until he was in a relationship.

‘He was right. I’ve always wanted to be part of a team.’ 

Richard and Ingrid quickly became a couple after meeting while filming, but the actress was hesitant about getting married. She’d had a difficult childhood, watching her parents marry a total of eight times between them, and that made her cautious about making the same commitment.

She explained that she’d witnessed failed marriages and didn’t want to commit to one herself unless she was completely certain it would work.

Richard didn’t know that the actress had tried and failed to get pregnant with IVF the year before they started dating.

I was single when Richard first inquired about my relationship status. I knew him from Twitter and television and thought he was a kind, intelligent, and lovely person. However, I had just decided to pursue IVF treatment and felt I couldn’t date anyone at the same time, she remembered.

Even though it might sound a little strange, I had a feeling we’d end up together eventually. I went through three rounds of IVF, which were incredibly difficult, before realizing it wasn’t going to work. By the time Richard contacted me again, I had accepted that outcome and was ready for a new chapter.

Richard recently shared with HELLO! magazine about how he first met Ingrid. He explained that she was a contestant on the show ‘House of Games,’ and while he recognized her from social media, they had never actually met in person. He jokingly admitted he was a little smitten when they finally did.

We started filming, and that’s how we met – our first date was all captured on camera! Afterwards, I remember thinking how tricky it would be to ask her out.

In a 2022 interview on Desert Island Discs, he shared that he felt content with his life, expressing gratitude for his children and the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with.

You quickly learn that the drive to compete and achieve isn’t what truly matters. What really counts is happiness, and for me, my children and Ingrid give me that.

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2025-09-22 02:09