Game Of Thrones Star Natalie Dormer Reveals She Secretly Had A Baby Earlier This Year

04/28/2021 11:47 am EDT

Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer had a baby earlier this year and managed to keep it a secret from the world. The actress revealed that she welcomed a baby daughter back in January of this year, with actor David Oakes (Vikings: Valhalla). The two met in 2017 while doing a project together at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and a year letter Dormer split from her fiance and partner of 11 years, director Anthony Byrne. In a new interview, Dormer made the reveal about becoming a mother, while joking that the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 provided the perfect opportunity (and cover) to make a baby.

"It's the perfect thing to do during a pandemic, is get pregnant and have a baby," told the That's After Life! podcast. "I feel like I'm probably being a bit of a cliche. She'll probably be sitting in a bar in 30 years' time … going, 'Yeah, I'm a COVID baby!'" She also added that there was little else for people to do while on lockdown together.

As for details on Natalie Dormer's new daughter? Here's what she was willing to share publicly:

"She's just three months and she's an absolute joy, but I'm never going to complain about shooting hours ever again because sleep deprivation is something else," the new mom said of the little one. "People say, 'Your whole perspective on life will change, and your whole set of value systems,' and you sort of roll your eyes and go, 'Yeah, yeah' – and then you have one and you go, 'Oh, wow!'"

Natalie Dormer became a breakout international star thanks to The Tudors in the late 2000s, and then Game of Thrones (as well as Elementary) in the 2010s. Her career shooting film hasn't taken off as much, but she's been keeping relevant through TV projects like Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. However, Dormer makes it clear that the demands of shooting TV or film concern her as a new mom who wants to spend time with her daughter; continuing to work on the stage looks much more conducive to a parenting schedule, but COVID-19 has made that a problem:

"People in the industry that I'm in do lean on nannies and they do that for a reason, so that they can take children with them," Dormer explained. "But, I mean for me, this is the perfect time to go back to the stage, because then I could be with her all day. But with COVID, who knows when that will happen."

Congratulations to Natalie Dormer and David Oakes, on the birth of their daughter.

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