Inside Kym Marsh’s bond with co-star – post show dates as actors suspected love

It was hearsay amongst the theatre cast for a few weeks, but on Friday night while out with friends, Kym Marsh confirmed she was in love again, having fallen for co-star Samuel Thomas a year after the breakdown of her third marriage.

She has even branded him her soulmate. The former pop star, 48, developed a relationship with the handsome 29-year-old when they worked together on 101 Dalmatians – The Musical.

And although it is still early days for the couple, they also made the romance Instagram-official by sharing a picture of themselves kissing. Kym wrote: “Met the most amazing man ever! Sometimes the most unexpected things happen at the most unexpected times. @samuelthomasuk I love you #beautiful #soulmate #loveyou.” Samuel replied: “I love you.”

He also added a picture of the pair together on his own Instagram, writing: “I didn’t expect you, but here you are. I love you.” The romance comes a year after Kym split from her third husband Scott Ratcliffe in May 2023 – just 13 months after they tied the knot.

A source close to Kym said: “She was quite down after the split from Scott and threw herself into her work. She was filming Waterloo Road again while doing a stage tour and then as luck would have it she met Sam. It started as a friendship but has quickly developed into something more. Kym is sure this relationship is the real deal and is telling anyone who will listen she is in love again.”

A friend of Kym’s told how the pair were out on Friday night in Birmingham hours after performing together. Kym takes on the role of Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmations, while Samuel plays Tom Dearly. Friends are happy for Kym but also worried – they say they are pleased she has found a man but worry over whether it will last. One said: “Kym is headstrong and throws herself into romance, I hope she doesn’t get hurt. She has had her fair share of heartbreak over the years but for now she is smiling again.”

The words of caution from Kym’s friend are hardly unsurprising. Her marriages are just three of a number of high-profile relationships that haven’t worked out. Kym’s first love was Dave Cunliffe, who she met in a karaoke pub in 1994. They had children David in 1995 and Emilie in 1997 and had intended to get married but their relationship ended in 1999.

The singer then fell for EastEnders actor Jack Ryder, who played Jamie Mitchell, in 2001, when she reportedly bumped into him in the staff canteen following a Top of the Pops performance. The pair went on to marry in Hertfordshire in August 2002.

They enjoyed six years together before deciding to separate in 2008 and their divorce was finalised in 2009. Next Kym fell head over heels for another soap star, this time from Hollyoaks. She began dating Jamie Lomas shortly after her divorce in 2009, and within a year fell pregnant. Sadly, at just 21 weeks she went into labour and her son Archie died minutes after being born.

The couple mourned the loss of their child but went on to welcome a daughter named Polly in March 2011. They married in September 2012 but were divorced by 2014. In a third soap star romance, Kym also briefly dated her Coronation Street co-star Oliver Mellor in 2013 but it wasn’t to be. After they split the actress was briefly engaged to personal trainer Dan Hooper, until they broke it off in 2015.

Most recently Kym walked down the aisle with her Army major love Scott Ratcliff, at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire. They were married in front of 150 people at the Royal Memorial Chapel in October 2021. Coronation Street star Alison King was a bridesmaid while Corrie actor Antony Cotton joined the groomsmen.

It was a whirlwind wedding which the couple fast-tracked after Kym’s dad Dave was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He eventually passed away in January this year. The marriage didn’t get off to the best start, as Kym revealed that two days after their wedding Scott was sent away for a fortnight.

She was not expecting the separation and branded life as an army wife as a “grim” experience. Kym lived in Cheshire, while Scott was based in a barracks down south – and she had to train for Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, putting further strain on the marriage. Shortly after her third marriage ended last year, Kym admitted she didn’t like to play things safe. She told the Guardian: “It’s just experience. I think I am a risk-taker because ‘what if’ is always worse. Comfortable is not good. I always want to be that person who has a go, because I wouldn’t want to sit there years down the line and say: ‘I wonder what would have happened if…”

And in an Instagram post yesterday she appeared to defend her new romance and took a dig at her exes. She said: “Someday someone is going to look at you with a light in their eyes you’ve never seen. They’ll look at you like you’re everything they’ve been looking for their entire lives. Wait for it.”

Kym’s current work on stage is alongside a busy TV schedule, with work on Morning Live and Waterloo Road filling her diary. But she has always been busy in showbiz. She was a huge hit on Coronation Street, playing Michelle Connor for 13 years. The role was Kym’s first major acting job, having previously been in pop band Hear’Say. She had won a place in the band in 2000 on ITV show Popstars.

She made her television acting debut in 2005, in an episode of the BBC One soap opera Doctors, playing a character called Ruth Parry. That same year, she also became a regular panellist on ITV’s daytime show Loose Women for its eighth season and she joined ITV mainstay Coronation Street in 2006.

Stage star Samuel is busy too. He has had successful roles including in The Normal Heart at The National Theatre. He even bagged the award for Best Actor in a Musical at The Stage Debut Awards in 2017 for his performance in Allegro at the Southwark Playhouse. It’s all go. So friends of both will be hoping they can find time to make this relationship Kym’s… happily ever after.

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