Milly Veitch
James Norton has reportedly signed up from Raya, after his surprise break-up from ex fiancée Imogen Poots.
The Happy Valley star, 38, and the actress, 34, went their separate ways before Christmas, with their split being announced last week.
The couple had been together for six years, before decided to call time of their relationship after ‘growing apart’.
And it seems that James is hoping to move on, as it has been reported the actor has created a profile on celebrity dating app Raya.
Raya is a private membership community that started out as a dating app, but has since become a platform for networking and social discovery.
It was launched in 2015 and costs £5.99 per month, but in order to join, you must fill out an application, have an impressive social media presence and referrals from existing members.
According to The Sun, James’ profile states he is an actor based in London but grew up in York, and is full of a slew of broody black-and-white snaps.
One handsome selfie shows the hunk sporting artfully tousled hair, while gazing pensively off camera.
The publication reports that James has also included a shirtless shot of himself and opted for John Prine’s romantic 1999 track In Spite Of Ourselves as his theme tune.
James’ new search for love comes after it emerged that his ex Imogen tried to keep their heartbreaking split a secret.
Despite splitting late last year, the pair decided to keep their break-up on the down low, with a source close to the pair telling MailOnline: ‘Imogen, for whatever reason, didn’t want people to know.’
The ‘free-spirited’ actress previously spoke about how she ‘wasn’t ready to slow down’ as she wanted to travel the world.
However, James has been open with his hopes of wanting a family and admitted three years ago that his ‘broody barometer is kicking off’.
Imogen split her time between New York and London, but previously insisted: ‘I have never known anything to fall apart due to distance’.
She told The Evening Standard back in 2020: ‘It’s all I’ve ever known. I find work to be my happy place, in a way. Because it’s all I’ve ever known: packing up a bag and moving on.
‘That restlessness that’s inherent in you is very addictive. And I suppose now I’m supposed to slow down and set up a farm or something. But I’m not ready to do that. I want to keep exploring the world.’
James previously said his 2020 film, Nowhere Special, in which he played the dying father of a three-year-old boy, kicked off his desire to become a dad.
He told The Guardian in 2021: ‘I’m mid-30s, I’ve always wanted a family, my sister has kids, my broody barometer is kicking off anyway.’
In an interview last year to promote the Happy Valley finale, James said of his busy acting life: ‘It comes as a cost because you don’t see each other a lot, but we are willing to pay that for the benefit of having someone in your life close to you who gets it, who is forgiving, who will give up their Sunday to do an annoying self-tape.’
Both have been working almost constantly, with James filming the Bob Marley biopic One Love, while Imogen spent time in New Mexico in 2022 making the drama Outer Range.
‘James and Imogen have extremely busy work lives and it has made it difficult for them to see each other,’ a source told The Sun.
‘They grew apart and split up last year. It hasn’t been easy for either of them but they are keeping their heads down and getting on with things.’
The couple’s romance began in December 2017 after meeting during a run of the play Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse.
In 2020, Imogen moved into James’s London pad, before setting up home together and after five years of dating they got engaged in February 2022.
Imogen was last seen with James at Wimbledon in July last year, however there has been no sign of her at any of the recent One Love premieres, in Jamaica, LA or London.
The pair also appear to have unfollowed each other on social media, and Imogen is not among those liking any of James’ recent Instagram posts about the film.
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