Real-Life Soap Romance: Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks Stars Who Fell in Love Off-Screen
Soaps often bring juicy and explosive storylines to our screens, many of them involving relationships. There’s always something gripping to watch when it involves murder, adultery and other major events rocking the cobbles and fictional villages.
Love stories are often a major theme in soap storylines, and some of these romances have extended off-screen as numerous actors found love in real life with their co-stars. Some of the couples worked together on the hit programmes such as ITV’s Coronation Street and Emmerdale or star in another soap entirely.
Thankfully, their relationships off-screen are not be as dramatic as the storylines soap character’s are often embroiled in and many soap actors have proven that romance can blossom on the job, with some even getting married and having children.
We have rounded up 11 couples who have worked together and are now dating from Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
Coronation Street stars were delighted as Rob Mallard’s boyfriend made his debut appearance on the show last month. Rob is known to viewers for his role as Daniel Osbourne on the Cobbles.
The 33-year-old is in a happy relationship with Matthew Martin away from the screen. Matthew recently arrested Cassandra Plummer at the end of a dramatic episode. Matthew took to Instagram to thank his co-star boyfriend as he shared the story behind his appearance in Weatherfield. He shared a snap on Instagram as he posed alongside the Daniel Osbourne star.
He said: “Ey mam! I’m on the telly box! Quite a surreal time being pulled in SUPER last minute to step in as a policeman to arrest Cassie Plummer.
Jane Danson, who plays Leanne Battersby, has been a fixture on the cobbles since 1997, arriving with the rest of the Battersby family, including sister Toyah (Georgia Taylor). Off-screen, Jane is married to fellow soap actor Robert Beck, who has appeared in shows like Brookside, Emmerdale, and Waterloo Road.
He even had a stint on Coronation Street in 2008, playing criminal Jimmy Dockerson, and portrayed villain Damon ‘Harry’ Harris in Emmerdale in 1999. Jane and Robert met in 1999 and got married in 2005 and they are parents to two children, Harry, born in July 2006, and Sam, born in February 2009.
During a heartfelt conversation with OK! Magazine, Jane opened up about her enduring relationship with Robert, revealing: “Me and my husband have been together for 22 years, and we’re really good friends as well as loving each other lots.”
Mark married actress Siobhan Finneran in 1997, they divorced in 2014. They have two children together. He is now in a relationship with former Emmerdale co-star Laura Norton. Laura plays the role of Kerry Wyatt on the show and Mark joined the cast of Emmerdale in August 2017 as Daz Spencer, he remained a regular until his character was written out in January 2019.
On 24 August 2020, it was announced that the couple were expecting their first child. On 29 January 2021, Laura gave birth to a son named Jesse. In November 2022, she gave birth to their daughter Ronnie.
Their young son and daughter will eventually become blind and deaf because of a rare genetic condition known as Usher syndrome. Presently incurable, it is present from birth and can range in severity, with symptoms typically emerging during adolescence. Laura has previously said: “They’re living their little lives and they have no idea what’s coming. That’s really hard sometimes.”
DI Roberts, portrayed by Isobel Middleton in Emmerdale, is actually married to Coronation Street’s Jane Hazlegrove, best known for her role as Bernie Winter.The pair exchanged vows in 2015 following a long-standing 20-year relationship – and Jane didn’t hold back her affection during a 2019 interview on Lorraine, exclaiming: “She’s sensational, a really beautiful woman. I am very obsessed.”
Hollyoaks’ Emmett J. Scanlan, who played Brendan Brady, and Claire Cooper, known as Jacqui McQueen, got hitched in January 2015.The pair have a son together named Ocean-Torin Scanlan. In June 2022, the couple shared the news that they were expecting their second child, with baby Fiáin-Luna arriving in November.Emmett has recently been spotted in several TV crime dramas including Kin, The Bay and This City Is Ours.
Ex-Emmerdale colleagues Kris Mochrie and Max Parker portrayed brothers on the soap. They maintained their friendship after Kris exited his role and made their relationship official with a trip to Dubai in September 2020.
The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Suffolk in August.