The well-known British comedian James Acaster has been open about his past relationships and breakups, which have been with fellow comedians Louise Ford and Rose Matafeo. His personal life has been a topic of interest alongside his successful career in stand-up comedy, podcasts, and television appearances. Many are interested in whether Acaster is currently in a relationship following his previous romantic disappointments.
As of the start of 2024, Acaster is single and dedicating his time to his career. At the age of 40, he is touring with his latest stand-up show ‘Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999’ and hosting the podcast ‘Off Menu’ with Ed Gamble. In addition, he’s been making appearances on several television programmes, such as ‘Taskmaster’, ‘QI’, and ‘Mock the Week’.
On top of these commitments, Acaster is also working on his memoirs, expected to be published within the year. Although the comedian is not a frequent user of social media, he sometimes posts updates on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. However, there have been no social media signs of a new girlfriend or romantic links since his last breakup in 2019.
Acaster has publicly admitted that he finds dating challenging and stressful. The comedian has spoken about the difficulties of dating as a public figure, especially as people often expect him to be humorous all the time.
The comedian’s first public relationship was with Louise Ford, an English actress known for her roles in ‘Crashing’, ‘The Windsors’, and ‘The Crown’. The pair met in 2010 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and began dating shortly after, but their relationship ended three years later. Acaster discovered the reason for their breakup from a magazine article revealing that Ford had left him for Rowan Atkinson, an actor best known for his role as Mr Bean – a revelation that left Acaster devastated.
Despite the heartbreak, Acaster later used the experience in his comedy, making jokes about the situation in his stand-up shows. In his Netflix show ‘Repertoire’, he joked about being left for Mr Bean and discussed the little habits of Ford’s that Atkinson would now have to live with.
Acaster’s second known relationship was with Rose Matafeo, a New Zealand comedian and actress who won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2018 for her show ‘Horndog’. The pair met at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2015 and began dating soon after. However, their relationship ended around a year later in 2016. The details surrounding their breakup are not clear, but both comedians have suggested it was a mutual decision. Despite the end of their romantic relationship, they continue to support each other’s careers. Matafeo, speaking to RNZ in 2022, spoke highly of Acaster even though she jokingly advised against dating comedians.
