Zawe Ashton makes her first public appearance since secretly giving birth to her first child

Zawe Ashton made her first public appearance since secretly giving birth to her first child while attending the Gone Too Far press party on Tuesday night.

The Fresh Meat star, 38, who welcomed a baby boy with fiance Tom Hiddleston, 42, last October, looked chic in a leather-look midi dress.

Zawe, who has yet to reveal her son’s name or gender, added a pair of chunky black heels to her look.

She wore her jet-black hair in a slicked-back style and posed with a host of stars at Theater Royal Stratford East in London.

Among them were the writer of the play Bola Agbaje, the actor Sope Dirisu and the Executive Director of the National Youth Theater Paul Roseby.

Lots to smile about: The 38-year-old Fresh Meat star looked chic in a leather-look midi dress (pictured with National Youth Theater CEO Paul Roseby)

The new mother was all smiles as she enjoyed the event and looked radiant.

Zawe and Tom first met in 2019 when they played husband and wife in a revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal.

In October 2022 it was reported that Tom and Zawe had secretly welcomed their first child together.

A source told US Weekly magazine: “Tom and Zawe love being new parents and are overjoyed.”

The source also noted that “they are having the difficulties of new parents and not getting much sleep, but they are excited.”

In June 2022, Tom confirmed that he was set to marry his actress fiancée, but remained tight-lipped about the romance, simply telling the The Los Angeles Times: ‘I am very happy’ and nothing more.

Tom and Zawe discussed a potential engagement when they appeared at the BAFTAs last year, after which she was pictured with a massive diamond sparkler on her ring finger in a photo shared by presenter AJ Odudu.

The couple were reportedly congratulated by industry friends at the ceremony, after Zawe hid her hand as she made her way to the red carpet in a pink cape dress.

Zawe and Tom have worked hard over the years to keep their relationship out of the spotlight.

The couple confirmed their romance during a PDA-filled vacation in Ibiza in September 2021, before making their Tony Awards red carpet debut together in New York City.

Hugs: The new mom hugged actor Sope Dirisu as they joined a host of people at the star-studded soiree

Sources close to the duo said The Night Manager star and the actress are “very well adjusted and enjoy the quieter side of life”.

A source told The Sun: ‘Tom and Zawe have kept quiet about their relationship, but she has spent the last few weeks with him in the US.

“They adjust very well and enjoy the quieter side of life, away from the glitz and glamor of show business.”

It was also said that Tom was wary of highlighting the romance due to the attention his past relationship with Taylor Swift drew.

A source said: ‘Tom has really fallen for Zawe big time. But he’s so paranoid about his private life since his relationship with Taylor that he’s done everything he can to keep this a secret.

Tom told the New York Times after his affair with Taylor: “Yeah, I’m protective of my inner world now probably in a different way.” That’s because I didn’t realize I needed protection before.

During Tom’s brief fling with Taylor, the couple didn’t shy away from showing off their romance with plenty of public outings.

The couple reunited shortly after Taylor’s split from Calvin Harris after they first met at the Met Gala in May 2016, and during the first weeks of their romance they traveled the world together.

They even took the big step of meeting each other’s parents, with Taylor flying to the UK to spend time with Tom’s mother in Suffolk, while he went to his adopted hometown of Nashville, before calling it quits in late 2016.

Tom also previously dated his Wallander co-star Susannah Fielding, and the couple split in 2011.

Private couple: The actress welcomed a baby boy with fiancé Tom Hiddleston, 42, last October (pictured together at the BAFTAs in March 2022)