Movies

Amanda Abbington Delays Wedding to 2026 After ‘Worst Year’ Amid Giovanni Pernice Drama

BBG News

Amanda Abbington has announced that she has postponed her wedding with partner Jonathan Goodwin until 2026, due to one of the toughest years in her life, following the controversy surrounding Giovanni Pernice’s bullying allegations.

Last July, over six months after her departure from the BBC show Strictly due to personal reasons, the actress publicly accused Pernice of behaving in an unnecessary, cruel, and mean manner towards her during their partnership on Strictly.

Following her allegations, Amanda encountered intense criticism from the general public. The actress shared that she received around 20 to 30 death threats daily via social media, while her partner was compelled to refute claims by trolls who accused her of attempting to sabotage Giovanni’s career.

In a recent conversation with The Times, Amanda revealed that she and her fiancé, who got engaged in May 2023, initially intended to get married in 2025. However, they have chosen to delay their wedding due to legal matters involving Jonathan.

2021 was undeniably one of the toughest years I’ve ever experienced. I came incredibly close to experiencing a mental breakdown due to the relentless onslaught of mistreatment and ugliness.

You might find yourself wondering, ‘What can I do to recharge my positivity?’. And let me tell you, Jonathan and my friends are truly exceptional. Although I’m attempting to protect the children from this situation, they remain remarkable.

In 2023, it became known that Jonathan filed a lawsuit against NBC about two years after he experienced a severe accident on the set of America’s Got Talent: Extreme in October 2021, which resulted in him becoming paralyzed and experiencing permanent changes in his life.

The actress and the former daredevil, 45, were friends for years before they began dating but were only together two months before Jonathan became permanently paraylsed when he was crushed during the stunt. 

In the course of the stunt, Jonathan found himself hanging 30 feet aloft, flipped head over heels, securely fastened in a straitjacket sandwiched between two automobiles.

He was severely crushed in the accident, breaking his shoulder blades, severing his spinal cord and shattering both legs, while also losing a kidney.

Amanda revealed to the press that the past decade has been an unusual period in her life, starting with her separation from Martin Freeman and followed by Jonathan’s devastating accidents during a stunt accident on America’s Got Talent: Extreme.

She observed that the events surrounding Jonathan’s accident and Strictly’s drama made her feel like they had certainly been riding a emotional roller coaster.

In the meantime, the actress confessed that she doubts whether people still appreciate her, given her recent experiences in the Giovanni Pernice bullying scandal, as she shares insights about her upcoming life plans.

Amanda reflected on the aftermath of the row, remarking that she was made out to be the ‘villain’ in it all, before insisting that she has ‘no regrets’ about standing up for herself. 

While Giovanni’s career appears to be back on track, with the dancer having recently won the Italian version of Strictly, Amanda has thrown herself into a new, yet somewhat less high-profile role in the play (This Is Not A) Happy Room – playing to a more intimate audience in a theatre behind a north London pub.

She expressed to The Times, through Dominic Maxwell, that she is excited about what the future holds and shared her desire to keep acting and potentially move into directing at some point. However, she remains uncertain about how the public will view her in light of the challenging phase she has gone through recently.

She shared: ‘I don’t know what the industry thinks of me at the moment. I’ve been immersed in the aftermath of it all for a year. I don’t know whether I’ve been cancelled or whether people don’t like me any more, but I know I did what I did for the right reasons. I feel good about the future.’

During the chat, she looked back on being in the thick of the furore in which Giovanni accused her of trying to destroy his career, but Amanda insists she was trying to suggest that they have a ‘safe space’ to ‘take five minutes’ to ensure they were all ‘happy’, but yet instead she said: ‘I was made out to be the villain.’

Despite the difficult time, Amanda insists she doesn’t ‘regret anything’ and in fact was ‘glad’ she spoke up for herself as she had never done so before, with the situation reminding her of being bullied as a child.

She said: ‘The fallout from it wasn’t something I was anticipating, but I’m glad I did it, I am. I’m glad that I stood up for myself because it’s the first time I’ve ever really done that.’

Amanda explained that her childhood, marked by extensive bullying, propelled her to act against Giovanni. She also observed how introverted individuals tend to withdraw when they are subjected to bullying.

When she voiced her allegations, she received heartwarming gestures like thanks and hugs from so many women, a stark contrast to the threatening messages she often encounters online.

After going through the difficult experience, Amanda shared her feelings of joy as she expressed that she is genuinely content now, expressing a desire to start anew in life. She also mentioned that she has gained valuable insights about herself and found ways to shut out certain aspects that she was unable to previously.

Read More

2025-03-15 17:02

Previous post Nightreign: The Ultimate Elden Ring Bosses Are Back!
Next post Muji Drops New Aluminum Luggage