This exhibition brings together artists, craftspeople, and companies at the frontier of contemporary Irish design
This exhibition brings together artists, craftspeople, and companies at the frontier of contemporary Irish design

Megan Burns

IMAGE staffer Emily O’Neill has perfected her wellness routine
IMAGE staffer Emily O’Neill has perfected her wellness routine

Emily O'Neill

This Foxrock family home is straight out of a fairytale
This Foxrock family home is straight out of a fairytale

IMAGE

Inside this wisteria-clad family home overlooking People’s Park in Bray
Inside this wisteria-clad family home overlooking People’s Park in Bray

IMAGE

Inspiration for your outdoor space from Irish homes
Inspiration for your outdoor space from Irish homes

Megan Burns

This Rathfarnham house has been turned into a bright, contemporary space
This Rathfarnham house has been turned into a bright, contemporary space

Megan Burns

Party Planning: The female-led businesses at the top of the events game
Party Planning: The female-led businesses at the top of the events game

Ciara Elliot

A sheltered patio area with incredible views is the crown jewel of this Waterford home
A sheltered patio area with incredible views is the crown jewel of this Waterford home

Sarah Finnan

Swapping my TV for a projector was the best decision: here’s what to know if you’re considering one
Swapping my TV for a projector was the best decision: here’s what to know if...

Megan Burns

The award-winning Irish cocktail bar shaking things up on an international level
The award-winning Irish cocktail bar shaking things up on an international level

James Gabriel Martin

Image / Editorial

Is Benedict Cumberbatch Engaged?


By Jeanne Sutton
05th Nov 2014
Is Benedict Cumberbatch Engaged?

benedict cumberbatch and girlfriend at french open

We think our hearts just stopped.

Benedict Cumberbatch is engaged and we don’t know where one buys funeral veils at this hour of the morning.

The 38-year-old English actor has been a sex symbol ever since his angular face appeared on screens in the BBC’s idiosyncratic?Sherlock reboot a few years ago. Although that Belstaff coat his character lived, and possibly fake-died in, might have played a part? He has even driven fans to mild criminal behaviour – British Airways noticed?an increase in ‘stolen’ copies of their inflight magazine when the?Star Trek actor featured on the cover earlier this year. Just last week?he got us hot under the collar with his speculation on what Sherlock would be like in bed. Alas! It looks like all our fantasies wil remain just that.

The Telegraph reports that an announcement in the Forthcoming Marriages section of?The Times – he did go to Harrow after allseems to point towards the Imitation Game actor walking down the aisle with his secret girlfriend who?got the internet into quite a frenzy a couple of months ago.

benedict cumberbatch

The notice reads:

“Mr BT. Cumberbatch and Miss S.I. Hunter: The engagement is announced between Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katharine Hunter of Edinburgh and Charles Hunter of London.”

Cue the tears and frantic googling.

And who is this Sophie Hunter AKA every thinking woman’s love rival? She’s a theatre director and actress and has starred opposite Benedict before, in Burlesque Fairytales, a 2009 thriller. Sophie is 36-years-old and has an undergraduate degree from Oxford in French and Italian. She studied acting in Paris in the acclaimed Jacques Lecoq school and seems as far from WAG that a Hollywood star can get.

The pair haven’t been dating long apparently – the only paparazzi photographs of the couple are from the French Open during the summer so don’t expect a wedding, or two, like Amal and George’s. The short relationship will also come as something of a shock to Benedict’s most devoted fans – after all the actor was in a decade-long relationship with fellow actress Olivia Poulet until 2010.

Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun