The precise moment Amanda Abbington learned of Jonathan Goodwin’s accident has been disclosed, along with her worries that she might never see him again.
After divorcing her ex-husband Martin Freeman, the actress—who is now engaged to Jonathan—began seeing the America’s Got Talent contestant.
However, when Amanda, 48, received a horrific phone call, their relationship was severely tested.
Her risk-taking fiance A TV star’s performance tragically went awry while he was recording an episode of America’s Got Talent: Extreme in 2021, leaving him paralysed and requiring a wheelchair.
Jonathan gained notoriety after participating in the 2019 season of the competition and making an appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. He was putting on a stunt in which he would dangle upside down 30 feet in the air between two suspended cars and break free from a straitjacket.
He was trapped between the burning cars because they had been released too quickly.
Later, Amanda revealed the awful depth of his wounds, saying that following his fall, he fractured both of his legs and lost a kidney. He also broke both of his shoulder blades.
‘Third degree burns, broke his spine and severed his spinal cord and, nearly died. And then on the operating table, he nearly died again,’ she added to Out To Lunch podcast with Jay Rayner.
Now, Amanda has said that she initially ‘didn’t think about the stunt’ and shared how she received the news.
‘[The stunt] was dangerous, but I knew Jonathan was a perfectionist so I didn’t think any more about it,’ she began to The Times.
‘When I woke up the following morning there was a voicemail from his stunt co-ordinator, “Jonathan’s had an accident. It’s not great news.”
‘Then it all became a crazy whirlwind; finding out what had happened, flying his family out there.’
Amanda was eventually able to speak with her spouse on the phone after realising the seriousness of his condition.
‘We did eventually speak on the phone. He called to say he was having an operation and there was a strong chance he might not make it,’ she shared.
‘He told me that he loved me and I honestly thought that was the last time I’d hear his voice.’
Since Jonathan’s near-fatal injury more than a year ago, she has complimented him for only improving “from strength to strength” in his recovery.
She claimed that Jonathan is “strong and independent,” and that he even “forgets he’s in a wheelchair.”
Jonathan, who earlier claimed that the tragedy wasn’t his fault, has since ended his career as a stunt performer as a result of his grave wounds.
Instead, the former escapologist shares guidance and “positive thinking” on his platform.