Hollyoaks stars Gregory Finnegan and Ariana Fraval have more than a job in common – they are also a couple in real life.
The actors play James Nightingale and DS Cohen on the Channel 4 soap and while their characters don’t date on the show, the pair have been married for over 10 years and have three sons.
They walked down the aisle in 2011 and celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary last year.
After James and DS Cohen shared a rare scene together in Thursday’s first-look episode, Daily Star have taken a look into their family life away from the fictional village.
Love story
(Image: gregory_finnegan/Instagram)
The stars were an item long before they each made their debut on Hollyoaks.
They started dating more than 11 years ago and tied the knot in 2011.
In 2020, Ariana shared a stunning black and white image on Instagram showing the pair locking lips after being pronounced husband and wife.
“Happy 9th wedding anniversary to my one and only xxxxxxx,” she captioned the cute snap.
Royal connection
Ariana and Gregory actually exchanged vows on the same day that Prince William and Kate Middleton did, and last year Gregory couldn’t resist a little joke about it.
Paying tribute to his wife on their anniversary, he shared a picture showing their heads superimposed onto Will and Kate’s bodies.
He wrote: “10 Years ago, this very day, in a low key church ceremony @ariana_fraval and I became Mr & Mrs Finnegan… here’s a pic of the happy couple striding out of the church on 29/04/2011.
“Happy anniversary to any other couples celebrating this auspicious day…!?”
Family life
(Image: ariana_fraval/Instagram)
Ariana and Gregory have a brood of three boys together.
The actors regularly give their fans a peek at their family life, sharing snaps on Instagram of them and their boys enjoying days out, taking walks and just hanging out at home together.
The couple and their boys live in a breathtaking home by the water on the Wirral Peninsula.
Snaps they have shared on social media show a home with huge windows and gorgeous parquet wooden flooring.
The couple clearly aren’t afraid to make bold statements either, as pictures show glimpses of striking tropical print wallpaper and large plants dotted around the place.
Work chaos
(Image: gregory_finnegan/Instagram)
Gregory joined Hollyoaks first, landing his role in 2016.
Ariana followed him when she was given the part of police officer DS Cohen in 2019.
Gregory previously told the Radio Times that childcare got a little tricky when his wife joined him on the soap.
“Now my wife has joined the show any change in the filming schedules is a double whammy for childcare,” he said.
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“So it’s all go, it makes things somewhat difficult but we are getting through it!”
However, it seems the extra childcare arrangements are all worth it as Gregory said it was really “lovely” having his wife on set with him.
“She has got to know the cast and is making friends – now she finally can put faces to the names I’ve been talking about all these years!” he said.
“It’s good fun working with her.”
Hollyoaks airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 6.30pm followed by first look episodes on E4 at 7pm
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
