Hollyoaks' real-life couples unveiled from TV wedding to unexpected engagements

Hollyoaks may take the record when it comes to having the the most real-life couples on a soap opera.

Several romances and even marriages have began on set of the Channel 4 soap since it first aired in 1995.

The serial drama is known for it steamy storylines which has seen plenty of love triangles and bombshell affairs over the past two decades.

It comes as no surprise that plenty of stars from the award-winning serial drama have taken their relationship off-camera over the years.

While some relationships between cast members didn’t last, others appears still appear to be going strong.

Daily Star has taken a sneak peek at some of the real-life couples who are together.

Gregory Finnegan and Ariana Fraval

Hollyoaks favourite Gregory is set to reunite with his real-life wife Ariana Fraval on screen in upcoming scenes.

The actress played DS Cohen in the soap from September 2019 to January 2020 and hasn’t been on screen over the past year because of reduced numbers on set due to Covid-19.

It has been reported that the copper will be working alongside her husband Gregory, 40, in the near future.

The couple tied the knot back in 2011, and in April 2021 they will celebrate 10 years as a married couple.

The actress and voiceover artist took to Instagram to share some intimate snaps from their special day last year to mark the occasion.

She captioned the post: “Happy 9th wedding anniversary to my one and only.”

The pair share three three sons together.

Gregory and Ariana live on the Wirral Peninsula in a cosy family home by the sea.

The actor has played the role of James Nightingale in Hollyoaks since 2016.

DS Cohen was called in to investigate the death of Gregory’s on-screen boyfriend, Harry Thom

The pair filmed several scenes together at the time, and soap fans were excited to learn that the two actors are a married couple off-screen.

Anna Passey and Kyle Pryor

Kyle and Anna, best known for playing Hollyoaks enemies Laurie Shelby and Sienna Blake, launched their own business together just months after confirming they were dating.

Revealing the couple’s exciting news to her 282,000 followers on Instagram earlier this year, Anna penned: “So @kylepryor and I have been working on a little passion project.

“Can I introduce you to @kipcandleco. We are so excited to launch our hand-poured, eco soy wax candle range. We hope you love them!”

Kyle and Anna confirmed that they’re an item in 2019, the same year his character Laurie was killed off.

After finally moving in together and revealing their secret off-camera romance, Anna told New magazine: “We just don’t feel the need to put it out there.

“It’s nice to keep something for yourselves. But we’re not trying to keep it private to build the mystery.

“We became really good friends first and it went from there.”

Sienna is still a Hollyoaks regular and Kyle recently returned to the Hollyoaks set to snog his girlfriend on camera.

The soap is currently using real-life partners of some stars for more intimate scenes due to coronavirus restrictions.

Nadine Mulkerrin and Rory-Douglas Speed

Rory and Nadine met on the set of the Channel 4 soap and got engaged in December 2018 after dating for just over a year.

The actor popped the question just weeks after they filmed their characters’ Cleo McQueen and Joel Dexter’s nuptials.

They are yet to start planning their wedding, after their friends had to cancel their ceremonies due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

During an Instagram Q&A, a fan asked Nadine if she had started planning her big day.

“Nope!” replied the actress. “Thank god now as I know so many people who’ve been forced to cancel.

“We’ll probably go away and just do it on a beach somewhere or settle for our TV wedding.”

Looking ahead to the big day, Rory previously revealed they will be inviting some of their cast mates.

He said: “Everybody is so friendly and so nice, it would be hundreds and hundreds of people if you really thought about it.”

Nadine and Rory welcomed their first child together, son Reggie, at the end of 2019.

Danny Mac and Carley Stenson

Danny and Carley both appeared in Hollyoaks but the pair didn’t meet on the set of the Channel 4 soap.

The talented duo never appeared on the show at the same time and actually met in a pub back in 2011.

Speaking on Loose Women previously, Danny, 32, explained: “We met in a pub in London when she was doing Legally Blonde on the West End.

“I went to see a mate who was in it at the time and we met in the pub after and that was it.”

Former Strictly Come Dancing runner-up Danny played Dodger Savage in Hollyoaks from 2011 until 2015, and Carley, now 38, played Steph Cunningham in the show from 2000 until 2011.

The couple announced their engagement in March 2016 and went on to get married in September 2017.

Danny and Carley proudly announced they’d welcomed a baby girl in June this year.

Daisy Wood-Davis and Luke Jerdy

Former Hollyoaks stars Luke and Daisy announced their engagement during a holiday to Greece in August 2019.

The actor got down on knee and popped the question on the beach in front of Daisy’s family.

Daisy, 30, couldn’t wait to share the happy news on Instagram, with photos showing her “dream” engagement ring that Luke had designed.

“She said yes,” Luke captioned the same photo in Greek on his profile, before translating the phrase into English and adding: “Daisy is going to be my wife. I’ll take that.”

Luke, 31, played Jesse Donovan on Hollyoaks from 2016 until 2020, while Daisy left her role as Kim Butterfield in late 2018.

The couple have been dating for around three years, having met back in 2011 through a mutual friend.

In May this year, they announced they were expecting their first child in October.

Emmett Scanlan and Claire Cooper

Actress Claire played Jacqui McQueen in Hollyoaks for seven years from 2006 until 2013.

She met now-husband Emmett in 2010, and they tied the knot in New York on New Year’s Eve in 2015.

Speaking to The Sun about the wedding, Emmett, now 42, said at the time: “It’s something I’ll never forget.

“Everyone got behind the wedding with such love that it was overwhelming at times.”

The pair became parents for the first time in July 2020 after Claire, now 40, gave birth to a baby boy.

Emmett later took to social media to share the tot’s name with his fans.

Sharing the snap with his 89,500 Instagram followers, the Peaky Blinders star proudly introduced his son.

“Hey world, meet my world. Our world. Meet Ocean-Torin Scanlan,” the doting dad wrote.

In the stunning black and white picture, the newborn flaunted a growing head of locks as he gazed at the camera.

Nikki Sanderson and Anthony Quinlan

Soap actress Nikki Sanderson is dating former Emmerdale star Anthony Quinlan. The duo kickstarted their romance in 2021.

Nikki split with ex Greg Whitehurst in during lockdown in 2020 and now she has struck a romance with Anthony.

A source previously told The Sun: “Nikki and Anthony go to the same gym and are really into fitness, so they bonded over that.

“It’s been a while now and things are going well.”

They added that Nikki was having a tough time and her new beau has been “a great support”.

Hollyoaks airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 6.30pm followed by a first-look episode on E4 at 7pm