'Sherlock' Actor Martin Freeman Hurting When His Teens Don't Spend Time With Him Anymore

Martin Freeman Amanda Abbington co-parenting Sherlock parenting teenagers Rachel Mariam Jonathan Goodwin Breeders Daisy Haggard

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Jul 07, 08:22 pm

Photo: (Photo : Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

"Sherlock" actor Martin Freeman has opened up about feeling hurt when his two teenagers do not want to spend time with him anymore. The British star is co-parenting Grace, 14, and Joe, 16, with former partner Amanda Abbington following their split in 2016.

Freeman admitted that while he understands the natural course of the situation with his teenagers, he still feels bad whenever Grace and Joe would do their own thing without their father. It does not help that the kids live in two homes because he and his ex-partner have separate lives.

"There are times where they're inevitably going to not be with you," Freeman said, per Daily Mail. He said it cuts his heart when his kids tell him, "Maybe not this weekend, Dad."

Parenting taught Martin Freeman to manage his anger

The actor noted that parenting made him see that he is quick to anger. He digressed that his emotions were not alarming enough to call social services, but it made him aware that he needed to manage this.

The star of "The Hobbit" said that parenthood surprised him with many realizations. But what he doesn't like are those "constant dooms" that people tell other parents when their kids act out.

Freeman said his least favorite parenting talk is when other moms or dads tell him they will be in trouble soon when the child reaches certain behavioral milestones as they age. As a father, Freeman said he prefers to enjoy the experience than expect the worst.

The actor is currently dating French actress Rachel Mariam. On the other hand, Abbington announced her engagement to stuntman Jonathan Goodwin in October 2021, per Metro.

In February, Freeman said that his split with Abbington "wasn't very fun" because they still had to work together on the set of "Sherlock." They tried to keep their break-up a secret from many people; thus, this meant pretending on the set that they were still a couple.

Freeman said that he has always loved working with Abbington but dealing with the break-up made it hard. However, the ex-couple agreed to be civil toward each other for the sake of Grace and Joe. To this day, Freeman said that they are still very friendly. Abbington also stated in interviews that she and her kids' father get along but cannot live together anymore.

Their relationship wasn't a failure

Abbington does not see their break-up as a failure because she and Freeman have had 16 years. The actress went on to say that "two fantastic kids" were born from their relationship.

The mom said Grace and Joe could have experienced "irreparable damage" because of their split. However, Abbington noted that her kids know they can always talk to their parents to ease their feelings of fear of shame as kids of a broken relationship.

Freeman is currently working on the third season of his parenting comedy series, "Breeders," with co-star Daisy Haggard. Freeman was part of the show's development and has included storylines about his real-life experiences as a dad.

He said that Grace and Joe have been asking for their commission because "Breeders" would not be produced if not for them, but the dad joked that his kids are "not getting any money," per Movie Web.