EastEnders Steve McFadden's love life – childhood sweetheart, co-star ex and fatherhood

Phil Mitchell makes a huge decision in EastEnders, when he decides to break up with Kat Slater.

Although Kat has told him that her feelings will not change if Phil is sent to prison, Phil is scared to tell her the truth about his sentence, and calls off their relationship.

Since arriving on Albert Square in 1990, Phil Mitchell has had multiple relationships with residents including Sharon Watts and Lisa Fowler.

Actor Steve McFadden has also had a wild love life off-screen too, including becoming a father with his childhood sweetheart, multiple relationships, and dating one of his EastEnders’ co-stars.

Childhood sweetheart and fatherhood

Long before dating one of his co-stars, Steve was in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart Sue Marshall.

Together the couple had one child called Matt, but sadly their teenage romance did not last and they parted ways.

After dating Sue Marshall, the actor began a relationship with Angela Bostock, who he had met at a party in Salisbury in 1995.

During this time however, the couple split when Steve McFadden began a relationship with EastEnder’s co-star Lucy Benjamin in 1999.

However, Steve and Angela got back together after Steve’s relationship with Lucy came to an end, and the couple later welcomed two daughters called Teona and Mollie Jane.

Steve and Angela parted ways in 2005, with the actor going on to date Dr Rachel Sidwell.

It is reported that their romance blossomed after they bumped into one another on a school run in 2008, with the couple dating for over a year.

They also had a daughter called Amelie Tinkerbell in September 2009, with the actor telling Ok! Magazine following her birth: “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. I can’t wait to start having more now.

“The day she was born was one of the greatest of my life.”

However, the couple split up less than two months after the birth of their daughter, with a source telling The Mirror: “Steve is more than heartbroken by the split.”

Girlfriend

Steve has since found love with girlfriend Karen Cairns, who he has been in a long-term relationship with for nearly a decade.

The couple were also delighted when they welcomed their daughter Frankie in June 2016, who is Steve’s fifth child.

Steve and Karen could be seen looking cosy together in photos as they took their daughter out for a stroll following her birth, with a source telling The Sun at the time: “‘Steve and Karen are both over the moon with little Frankie.

“Her pregnancy did come as a surprise, but now they are both really happy.”

Co-star ex

Steve McFadden met ex-girlfriend Lucy Benjamin on the set of EastEnders, after Lucy arrived on the soap to play Lisa Fowler.

During that time, not only did Lisa have a relationship with Phil, but she was also the culprit in the famous Who Shot Phil Mitchell storyline.

Although the characters had a fiery relationship on screen, Steve and Lucy’s love blossomed off screen.

The couple dated for over four years from 1999, before splitting up in 2003.

However, both Steve and Lucy have remained close friends, with Lucy telling ITV daytime programme Loose Women that she enjoyed working with him again during Lisa’s return to Albert Square in 2017.

Lisa returned to the square after Louise was hospitilised following second-degree burns.

Talking about filming the scenes and working with Steve, she said: “It was more about the history between Lisa and Phil and there is so much water under the bridge with those two people.”

“You just resort back to their storylines and the things they have gone through as characters. We didn’t have to think about me and Steve and the old days.

“There is so much stuff between Lisa and Phil. It was easy to play that. It was strange really, but lovely to be working with Steve, Tish and Natalie Cassidy again.

She added: “It was strange really but within 10 minutes it was like I’d never been away.

“It was like having old mates back and I knew they would look after me on my return.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk