Beloved Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd has found love again after a messy divorce from ex-wife Alice Evans.
On the weekend, the 50-year-old Black Hawk Down and Fantastic Four star’s Australian girlfriend, 31-year-old Bianca Wallace, dropped the happy news on Instagram.
The actress shared a picture of the pair kissing, with Wallace holding up her hand to show off her emerald engagement ring.
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“The most precious thing happened … ❤️💍”, the joyful picture was captioned.
The pair have been dating since 2021 — shortly after Gruffudd’s ex-wife announced he had left her after 20 years of marriage.
Gruffudd and Evans’ acrimonious divorce wasn’t finalised until July 2023.
The engagement comes after Wallace sparked pregnancy rumours by posting a picture of herself in a billowy white dress.
“Just a happy gal living life,” she wrote — and then was inundated with messages asking her if she was expecting.
She later replied to one comment, saying the dress was “giving her tummy that illusion” but declaring that she wasn’t pregnant.
The pair live together in Los Angeles and are clearly smitten with one another, regularly sharing pictures of each other on Instagram.
“Thank you for making me smile again,” Gruffudd wrote alongside one picture of the pair having a laugh together.
At a red carpet event with her beau, Wallace wrote: “The LA premiere of the brilliant Head Count movie ✨ A wonderful evening with even better company!”
Followers of both appeared to be delighted with their news.
“Congratulations, legends!” one follower wrote beneath Wallace’s announcement.
“So so so happy for you!!! Your love is one for the ages,” said another.
“CONGRATULATIONS, you two Lovebirds!” added a third.
Wallace was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just over five years ago and keeps her followers updated on her health via Instagram.
In 2022, Gruffudd announced that he was going to direct a “multiple sclerosis drama” called A Ray of Sunshine, written by Wallace, in which he and Wallace would also star.
“I am so proud to be able to bring Bianca’s extraordinary story to life alongside Jimmy (Gadd),” he wrote, referring to his co-director.
“Looking forward to sharing this with you all.”
Many of Wallace’s followers thought Gruffudd was “the right man for the job”.
“My gosh!! I’m so happy for you both!” one fan wrote about their engagement news.
“As someone who battles illness, I know it takes a special person to be able to share that journey with you.
“Ioan is a special man and you’re a special and inspiring lady.
“You give many of us glimpses of hope that we may need and honestly, it’s fun to follow your adventures and progress.”
“I’m beaming so, so much love and light your way, my dear lady,” wrote another.
“You’ve climbed MOUNTAINS these past few years, and you’ve finally found a safe haven, a valley all your own. 🩷🥰”
Acrimonious split
Gruffudd and his former wife have two children together — daughters Ella, 14, and Elsie, 10.
Late last year, the Daily Mail reported that the actor’s ex received only $100,000 from the sale of their marital home and was struggling financially, telling a friend she was thinking of taking a job at Starbucks to stay afloat.
Taking to Twitter after their split, Evans, 55, wrote: “Sad news. My beloved husband/soul mate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.”
“Me and our young daughters are very confused and sad,” she added.
“We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me’.
“I’m so sorry.”
Things got incredibly messy after that.
In August 2022, Gruffudd was granted a three-year restraining order against Evans, which prevents her from mentioning him on social media after accusations that she used fake Twitter accounts to call him and Wallace “child abusers”.
“Since May 26 there have been a number of anonymous social media accounts set up on Twitter naming Bianca and myself ‘child abusers’, and making incredibly slanderous and defamatory claims,” Gruffudd said in his statement at the time.
“Alice has slipped up a number of times on these accounts, making clear the ‘anonymous’ accounts are her accounts.
“I sought and obtained the DVRO (domestic violence restraining order) against Alice in part because she was using her social media accounts to continue to harass, threaten, and disturb the peace of both me and Bianca.”
A month before, Evans had launched a GoFundMe page asking for $25,000 so she could pay her bills.
“I never in a million years thought I would be doing this. However, in August 2020, just as the pandemic was really kicking in, my entire world fell apart,” she wrote.
“Since that date I have been not only struggling as a single mother to my babies, but also trying to cover bills and food and legal fees (ha! don’t even talk to me about legal fees) which dwarf any other expense in my life and have finally drained everything — savings, accounts, pension, the lot.”
In December last year, Evans’s situation was still apparently dire.
“(Alice) has just hit a financial rock bottom,” a friend told The Daily Mail.
“She says she has nothing – not even medical insurance.”
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