Amanda Abbington has revealed that she has delayed her wedding to fiancé Jonathan Goodwin until 2026 following one of the ‘worst years of my life’ amid the Giovanni Pernice bullying row.

In July last year, more than six months after she quit BBC show Strictly citing ‘personal reasons’, the actress accused Pernice of ‘unnecessary, cruel and mean behaviour’ during their time dancing together on Strictly.

In the wake of her accusations, Amanda faced heavy backlash from the public, with the actress noting that she was subjected to ’20 to 30 death threats a day’ on social media, while her fiancé was forced to slam trolls accusing her of trying to ‘ruin’ Giovanni’s career. 

In a new interview with The Times, Amanda has told how the couple – who became engaged in May 2023 – planned to tie the knot in 2025 but have decided to postpone due to ‘litigation’, which the publication stated was about Jonathan.

Amanda shared: ‘Last year was one of the worst years of my entire life. I was very close to having a breakdown because of the constant barrage of abuse and hideousness.

‘And you just think, “How can I refuel the positivity?”. And Jonathan was amazing. My friends were amazing. My kids were wonderful, though I was trying to shield them from it.’

Amanda Abbington has revealed that she has delayed her wedding to fiancé Jonathan Goodwin until 2026 following one of the ‘worst years of my life’ amid Giovanni Pernice bullying row

In July last year, more than six months after she quit the BBC show citing ‘personal reasons’, the actress accused Pernice of ‘unnecessary, cruel and mean behaviour’ during their time dancing together on Strictly

It was reported back in 2023 that Jonathan had officially sued NBC two years after suffering a ‘catastrophic’ and ‘life-altering’ accident that left him paralyzed during a rehearsal for AGT: Extreme in October 2021. 

The actress and the former daredevil, 45, were friends for years before they began dating but were only together two months before Jonathan became permanently paraylsed when he was crushed during the stunt. 

During the stunt, Jonathan was suspended 30ft in the air upside down, strapped into a straitjacket between two cars.

He was severely crushed in the accident, breaking his shoulder blades, severing his spinal cord and shattering both legs, while also losing a kidney.

Amanda went on to tell the publication that it has been a ‘weird 10 years’ for her following her split from Martin Freeman and Jonathan’s life-changing injuries following a stunt disaster on America’s Got Talent: Extreme.

And between Jonathan’s accident and the Strictly drama, she noted that it feels as though the pair were ‘definitely on the rollercoaster’.

Meanwhile, the thespian admitted that she’s unsure if people still ‘like’ her anymore as she opens up on her future following the Giovanni Pernice bullying row. 

Amanda reflected on the aftermath of the row, remarking that she was made out to be the ‘villain’ in it all, before insisting that she has ‘no regrets’ about standing up for herself. 

Amanda has told how the couple – who became engaged in May 2023 – planned to tie the knot in 2025 but have decided to postpone due to ‘litigation’, which the publication stated was about Jonathan

The actress and the former daredevil, 45, were friends for years before they began dating but were only together two months before Jonathan became permanently paraylsed on AGT

Amanda shared: ‘ Last year was one of the worst years of my entire life. I was very close to having a breakdown because of the constant barrage of abuse and hideousness’ 

While Giovanni’s career appears to be back on track, with the dancer having recently won the Italian version of Strictly, Amanda has thrown herself into a new, yet somewhat less high-profile role in the play (This Is Not A) Happy Room – playing to a more intimate audience in a theatre behind a north London pub.

She added to The Times’ Dominic Maxwell that she looked forward to the future and told how she would love to continue acting and even turn to directing down the line, but she isn’t sure of the public opinion of her following the tough period in her life.

She shared: ‘I don’t know what the industry thinks of me at the moment. I’ve been immersed in the aftermath of it all for a year. I don’t know whether I’ve been cancelled or whether people don’t like me any more, but I know I did what I did for the right reasons. I feel good about the future.’

During the chat, she looked back on being in the thick of the furore in which Giovanni accused her of trying to destroy his career, but Amanda insists she was trying to suggest that they have a ‘safe space’ to ‘take five minutes’ to ensure they were all ‘happy’, but yet instead she said: ‘I was made out to be the villain.’

Amanda has admitted that she’s unsure if people still ‘like’ her anymore as she opens up on her future following the Giovanni Pernice bullying row

Amanda faced heavy backlash from the public, with the actress noting that she was subjected to ’20 to 30 death threats a day’ on social media

‘I don’t know what the industry thinks of me at the moment. I’ve been immersed in the aftermath of it all for a year. I don’t know whether I’ve been cancelled or whether people don’t like me any more’

Read More Strictly’s Amanda Abbington isn’t sure if people ‘like’ her after the Giovanni Pernice bullying row

Despite the difficult time, Amanda insists she doesn’t ‘regret anything’ and in fact was ‘glad’ she spoke up for herself as she had never done so before, with the situation reminding her of being bullied as a child.

She said: ‘The fallout from it wasn’t something I was anticipating, but I’m glad I did it, I am. I’m glad that I stood up for myself because it’s the first time I’ve ever really done that.’

Amanda went on to say that her years of being ‘bullied extensively’ as a child gave her the push to take action against Giovanni and she can see how ‘introverted’ people become when being bullied.

She added that when she made her accusations, she was thanked and hugged by ‘so many women’, which she quipped was a nice changed from the numerous threats on social media. 

With the ordeal now behind her, Amanda told how she can finally says she’s ‘actually happy’ now as she looks to moving on with her life, adding that she’s ‘learnt a lot’ about herself and can now ‘block certain things’ that she couldn’t before.