Rita Simons’ love life has hit the headlines over the years.
The soap icon shot to fame as Roxy Mitchell in BBC soap EastEnders back in 2007 until 2017 when she was killed off by bosses. Since leaving Albert Square, she has appeared in Professor T as Debbie Sanderson and recently made her debut as Maria Fielding in rival Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
But fans of the actress might be wondering whether or not she’s single. Rita hasn’t always had it easy in the love department/
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She split from husband of 14 years Theo Silveston – with whom she shares twins Jaimee and Maiya, – in 2020, after their reps said they had been living separate lives and just “grown apart”. Rita has since said that she and Theo have an amicable relationship.
(Image: INSTAGRAM / Rita Simons)
Their split would go on to cause real damage as Rita started to struggle. The actress was not only dealing with the end of her marriage, she was working non-stop and soon found herself battling depression and insomnia as her weight plummeted.
In the end, the cocktail of stress, pressure and heartbreak caused her to suffer a nervous breakdown. Rita describes the period as “one of the worst times” of her life. In an interview with OK! Magazine, Rita said: “I was physically ill every other week and I lost loads of weight.
(Image: Loughborough Echo)
“Every night I would go on stage in the West End in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie having just had some fraught conversation with Theo, and later on having just received legal letters. And I would just cry, go on stage, come off, cry and respond.
“I also had terrible insomnia for about a year. When I’m unhappy, my sleep is the first thing to go and then the knock-on is the depression and anxiety.” In 2019, while starring in the play The House On Cold Hill, the star had a nervous breakdown.
(Image: Lime Pictures)
“My mind went to some major dark places,” admitted Rita at the time. Speaking to The Sun she said: “There were some stairs on the set that I came on stage on, quite high at the top. And I thought I could just chuck myself down. I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to hurt myself enough to go to hospital and have someone look after me. That was scary. There was my anxiety, depression and OCD, but in the centre of all of that there was a really sad divorce happening
The star and mum-of-two is now happily in a relationship with former actor Ben Harlow after the pair met while performing in Legally Blonde the Musical. Discussing her romance, Rita said Ben is “the loveliest man on the planet” and that it’s only because she’s “so happy” now she can see what a “mess” she was.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
