10 real-life Emmerdale couples – childhood sweethearts, lockdown love affairs, and surprise weddings
Real-life Emmerdale couples
Emmerdale couples: Chris Chittell and Lesley Dunlop
Who knew Eric and Brenda were a real-life couple? Chris Chittell is Emmerdale’s longest-serving actor, and has been entertaining audiences with his portrayal of scheming Eric Pollard since 1986. Lesley Dunlop joined the soap in 2008 as Brenda Walker, and it wasn’t long before she and Chris became an item.
The couple, who both have two children each from their previous marriages, got hitched in June 2016. Their wedding took place at St Peter’s Church in the coastal village of Coverack in Cornwall.
Despite living and working together, Lesley and Chris have a policy not to talk about Emmerdale once they get home. But that might have been broken a few times over the years seeing as their characters have had an on/off romance.
We think they make such a gorgeous pair.
Jeff Hordley and Zoe Henry
Jeff Hordley is known to millions as Emmerdale bad boy Cain Dingle, who’s bedded just about every woman in the village. But there’s only one woman for Jeff – his co-star, Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona Goskirk.
This handsome couple go way back. They first met in 1994 when they were students at drama school. Jeff proposed after Zoe won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Manchester Evening News’ theatre awards. They got married in 2003.
Two years later, Zoe and Jeff welcomed their daughter, Violet, who was followed by son Stan in 2008. The family live in Yorkshire and are keen gardeners, who grow their own produce at their allotment.
Zoe and Jeff have been a couple for 30 years and have spent the last 14 of them both working at Emmerdale. However, don’t expect to see a Rhona/Cain storyline any time soon because they rarely have scenes together.
Charley Webb and Matthew Wolfenden
Despite the fact they’re no longer together, Charley and Matthew are still Emmerdale’s most well-known real-life pairing.
Their love story started back in 2007, a year after Matthew joined the soap as David Metcalfe. Charley was already established in her role as Debbie Dingle.
In September 2009 the couple announced they were expecting their first baby, and welcomed son Buster the following spring. Charley and David went on to have two more sons – Bowie, in December 2015, and Ace came along in July 2019.
The couple gave their friends and family an unforgettable surprise in 2018 when they invited them to Charley’s 30th birthday, which turned out to be a secret wedding. Lucy Pargeter, who plays Charley’s on-screen aunt, Chas Dingle, acted as their bridesmaid.
Sadly after five years of marriage Matthew and Charley announced their separation in 2023. In a joint statement on Instagram they said:
“It is with love and respect that we have decided to separate. We remain friends and our priority is the love for our children.”
Chelsea Halfpenny and James Baxter
Original Amy actress Chelsea and her fiancé James have both appeared on Emmerdale – although not at the same time.
She was the first actress to play Amy Wyatt, between 2010-2013 before Natalie Ann Jamieson took over the role. While James played the character of Jake Doland from 2007 to 2009.
The couple went Instagram official back in October 2018 and shared some adorable shots with their pet dog.
An engagement announcement followed on June 13, 2021, and in 2023 Chelsea and James revealed they were expecting their first baby. Their little daughter arrived last June.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Natalie J Robb and Johnny McPherson
Natalie and Johnny, who play Moira Dingle and Dr Liam Cavanagh respectively, enjoyed a whirlwind romance.
They went from colleagues to lovers after spending time together doing a charity trip to Lapland in December 2019. Just three months later the world was plunged into lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. Natalie and Johnny decided to fast forward their relationship by moving in together.
The couple managed to keep their love under wraps until June 2020 when they appeared on a Zoom chat together.
Johnny and Natalie stayed together for a year before deciding they were better off as friends. The exes have appeared in Emmerdale scenes together since their split, but have both said there’s no awkwardness there.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Dominic Brunt and Joanne Mitchell
Paddy’s love life has been chaotic to say the least, but thankfully that’s not the case for his alter-ego, Dominic Brunt. The popular Emmerdale star is happily loved up with wife, Joanne Mitchell – who also happens to be an actor.
Dominic has portrayed village vet Paddy since 1997, but Joanne has played no fewer than four different Emmerdale characters.
Her first role was as DS Karen Barnborough, who investigated Zoe Tate’s rape allegation against Scott Windsor in 2003. Three years on, Joanne played Midwife Yeo and this was followed up by two stints as CAFCASS officer, Susan Davies.
But fans will probably remember her best as Liv’s mum, Sandra Flaherty, who she played intermittently from 2016 to 2022.
Dominic and Joanne met when they were both students at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. They married in 2003 and are parents to their sons, Mickey-Joe and Danny Lee.
Fiona Wade and Simon Cotton
People often meet their other-halves at work, and that’s what happened for Fiona Wade.
The actress, who is best known for playing Priya Sharma between 2011 and 2023 met her husband, Simon Cotton on the set of Emmerdale. Simon had a short stint as Home Farm Estate client Hugh Bryant in August 2017 and says it was love at first sight.
The couple got engaged at the end of 2018 and married in December 2019. Fiona and Simon exchanged vows in a Bahá’í Faith ceremony at Euridge Manor and Orangery, surrounded by their family and several Emmerdale co-stars.
Since leaving Emmerdale, Fiona has gone on the road in a touring production of 2:22 A Ghost Story.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Max Parker and Kris Mochrie
Max Parker and Kris Mochrie were another couple who fell in love on the set of the ITV soap.
On-screen, the actors played brothers Luke (Parker) and Lee Posner (Mochrie). The day they first met was actually Kris’s last filming on the set of Emmerdale. Max was instantly attracted to his co-star, and decided to slide into Kris DMs after spotting his profile on Tinder.
They got together in July 2020, and were engaged by January 2022 after Max popped the question.
Taking to Instagram to share their happy news, Max posted a snap of he and Kris kissing, with the caption: “He deserves the world, but the best I could do was promise him my heart. HE SAID YES. Happiest moment of my life. @krismoc my Fiancé.”
Laura Norton and Mark Jordon
Laura is best known for playing Emmerdale motormouth Kerry Wyatt, while Mark played Daz Spencer. Some viewers may also remember him for his iconic role of PC Mark Bellamy in the ITV teatime drama, Heartbeat.
They’ve been together since 2015, and met on the set of Emmerdale.
Laura and Mark are parents to three-year-old son Jesse, and daughter Ronnie, two, both of whom have been diagnosed with Usher Syndrome. The rare genetic condition affects hearing and vision and can lead to blindness.
The couple are united in their mission to help find a cure for the disease, and are working hard to raise both awareness and funds.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Michelle Hardwick and Kate Brooks
Love isn’t just amongst the actors on Emmerdale. Michelle Hardwick, who plays vet Vanessa Woodfield, is married to Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks.
The couple first met when Michelle was working as a producer on Emmerdale, and went public with their romance on National Coming Out Day in September 2017.
The following year, Michelle popped the question to Kate. They had an intimate wedding at Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland home in Memphis, followed by a big party back home for their family and friends.
They are now parents to son, Teddy, who Michelle gave birth to in October 2020. And they completed their family with the arrival of daughter Betty in November 2022.
