Entertainment
Inside Archie star Kara Tointon’s love life
Archie star Kara Tointon had many high-profile relationships, before moving away from the UK to focus on her two sons.
From a breakthrough role in EastEnders to Strictly victory with her ex-beau, Kara has established herself as one of the biggest TV stars. She is now playing the lead role in the drama miniseries Archies.
So, who has Kara dated in the past? Why did she split from the father of her sons, and who is she dating in 2024? Here’s a timeline of her tumultuous love life.
Kara Tointon’s ‘first love’ was from her relationship with James Bourne
Her “first love” was Busted singer James Bourne who she started dating when she was only a teenager. Their relationship ended after seven years together.
She was accused of “dumping” the musician because his band split. But she claims they had called it quits on their relationship five months before the Busted dismantled. They were together until 2005.
Responding to rumours about her relationship with James, Kara Tointon shared: “It was horrible that people would think I’d break up with James because he was no longer in the band. He just said, ‘If you’re an actress, you’ve got to get used to this’.”
Romance with Terry Kiely
The actress, who played Dawn on the BBC soap, went on to date Terry Kiely after moving on from her musician ex. They split after dating for 18 months in July 2006.
While Kara Tointon insisted her busy schedule was causing issue in her relationship with Terry, sources stated a different reason. An insider told The Mirror: “Kara and James are good mates and are always fooling around together,” referring to her co-star from EastEnders who would later become her boyfriend.
But Kara said: “We’re both very busy – although I hate to think work could have been a factor.”
She dated her EastEnders co-star
In March 2007, she was dating her EastEnders co-star James Alexandrou. She was 23 at the time and never thought of getting involved with “someone at work” – but she did.
Talking about her relationship to The Mirror, the star said: “You worry about whether it’s right. But in the end, you can’t help who you fall for. He’s a wonderful person who’s very generous and always thinks about everyone else.”
“And the fact is, it wasn’t like a normal office where you sit at desks next to each other. In the time he was here, we only had two scenes together, so we didn’t really see each other at work, except in the green room.”
She admitted to building a strong friendship with James before they became an item. They became close while working on the sets of their show, although they did a few scenes together.
Kara finally agreed to go on a date with James two months after splitting from Terry, who she was still dating at the time.
“We were friends for so long, and it was easy when we went on our first date. We went to the cinema because he loves films,” she gushed.
But their short-lived relationship ended in November of the same year and sources said, “It is all very amicable,” according to Sunday Mirror.
Whirlwind romance with Joe Swash
Kara and Joe Swash’s whirlwind romance started years after they met on the sets of their show. The actors who played siblings on the show went public with their relationship in November 2008.
They were head over heels for each other and the I’m A Celebrity star had marriage on her “mind”, according to The Mirror. However, rumours about tension in their relationship started swirling towards the end of 2009.
Reportedly they were bickering a lot – sources claim they had repeated “epic rows” backstage when they starred in Snow White at Bristol’s Hippodrome.
They called quits on their relationship in May 2010 and she went to Marbella with her friends to “get her head together”.
One source claimed: “Both she and Joe are really upset about it – but their rows were getting too frequent and they knew they couldn’t make it work anymore.”
While Joe accepted to have contributed to the failure of their relationship, she moved on with her Strictly dancing partner Artem Chigvintsev.
Joe reflected at the time: “It was all down to me, and nothing to do with Kara,” the lovesick star confessed. She genuinely does everything right. It was my fault it broke down. I didn’t know what I had until she was gone.”
He even confessed that it “hurt” him a lot when he learned his ex and the Russian hunk were an “item.” Joe wanted to cheer for Kara in the dancing competition, but he wasn’t fully over her. Joe said: “I wanted to watch Strictly to support her but I knew it was going to rip my heart out.”
But he has since moved on and started a family with his wife Stacey Solomon. The couple shares three biological children – Rex, Rose and Belle, and three more from their respective previous relationships.
Strictly boyfriend
The Archie star and Artem were perhaps one of the hottest TV couples. They met on Strictly, danced their way to victory and dated for four years from 2010 to 2014.
She told The Telegraph’s Mandrake column: “‘We are not together. We’re fine, but we aren’t a couple any more. The reason I haven’t spoken about it is because I hate reading about myself in that way.”
Reportedly, Artem’s visa allowed him very little time in the UK, so the pair found it increasingly difficult to spend time with each other. She wanted to focus on her role as Rosalie in Mr Selfridge instead.
Artem later married WWE wrestler Nikki Bella, who was his dancing partner in the 2017 version of Strictly. He was recently in the news for getting arrested in California over charges of alleged domestic violence.
It was revealed that he did not face any charges and was released on a £19,000 bond. However, it isn’t known if his wife was involved in his arrest, reports BBC.
Engagement with Marius Jensen
Kara dated Marius Jensen for ten months in 2016. The couple got engaged in 2018 after dating for two years. The EastEnders actress was also pregnant with their first child at the time.
Marius, a registered chiropractor, went on to have a second child with Kara in 2021. They share two sons – Frey and Helly. The couple split a few months after welcoming their second child.
A source told The Sun: “Kara and Marius quietly separated around ten months ago. There was no wrong-doing on either side, and they both still care about each other.”
“But they came to the decision that there was no future for them as a couple. They remain friends, and are both very committed to co-parenting their two children.”
Life away from the UK
It isn’t known who Kara is dating right now, but Manchester Evening reports she is focused on her duties as a mother while living in Norway.
“Now I have children so my priority is to be at home as much as possible. I live in Norway now – we’ve upped sticks and we’re there.”
She continued: “I travel back and forth, and in a way, I suppose I just go with the peaks and troughs willingly because it gives me the opportunity to be at home with my children.”
Read more: EastEnders fans gobsmacked by Stacey Slater’s bap prices: I’m off to Walford!
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Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott split after five years recently, with the couple’s relationship being pulled into the spotlight in recent weeks.
Now, the real reason behind their split has seemingly been revealed.
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott split
Earlier this month, it was reported that TV’s golden couple Sam and Zara had split after five years together.
A source alleged to the MailOnline: “Sam and Zara have ended their relationship. It’s been an incredibly difficult decision for them to part ways, they still care and have a lot of love for each other.
“But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split. They will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025,” they then continued.
“There has been no scandal or fallout between them, it’s just the result of a difficult year, where they both had to spend a lot of time focused on their own projects.”
‘Real’ reason Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott split revealed?
Now, according to a source speaking to The Sun, Sam and Zara reportedly split because Sam wasn’t “prioritising” their relationship.
“Zara never felt like she was the priority with Sam. He always seemed to find someone or something to put before her,” they said.
According to the source – allegedly a friend of the couple – Sam’s “immature” personality pushed the couple further apart when they were planning their future together.
This then led to them spending Christmas apart – before ending their relationship for good.
‘Things in the relationship weren’t right’
The source then continued.
“Zara loved Sam, but things in the relationship weren’t right. They are both selfish in their own right and want to be successful in business as individuals – but of course that comes at a price. Sam is very childish – it’s even become a part of his ‘showbiz persona’ – but Zara feels as though she’s getting older and wants to start being taken more seriously. She knows she’ll want to start a family soon, but Sam thinks they’re both way too young and should focus on their careers,” they then said.
They’re both quite insecure and that came with its own issues.
“Sam’s family felt Zara didn’t make good choices and so they couldn’t see him with her long term. They’re both quite insecure and that came with its own issues. After her affair it built a wedge with Sam’s family and Sam looked at them for their approval. It was always an uphill battle to prove she had changed. Sadly they ended up growing apart rather than together and their relationship became more like friends who are housemates rather than lovers,” they then added.
ED! has contacted Zara and Sam’s reps for comment.
Read more: Sam Thompson finally breaks silence on split from Zara McDermott: ‘It’s been a really tough month’
Are you sad about Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott’s break-up? Follow our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know your thoughts!
Entertainment
Inside Denise Welch and Lincoln Townley’s vast fortune after selling £20m art collection
Self-taught artist Lincoln Townley sold 22 paintings in 2020 for a whopping £20 million fortune, seven years after marrying television’s Denise Welch.
He cited billionaires like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk as inspiration for the collection, which was called Universe.
Actor Michael Caine once referred to Townley as the “next Andy Warhol”. Warhol popularised a style known as “pop art”, which involves often simple, repeated images, and deliberately regurgitates iconic images from pop culture, such as the faces of celebrities or brand logos.
Lincoln Townley is 14 years younger than Denise Welch, who is his second wife after a months-long union with Beverley Scales in 1992.
Lincoln and Denise’s ‘unsustainable’ relationship beginnings
When he met Denise in 2012, Lincoln Townley was a man on the edge.
Peter Stringfellow had just fired him from the role of sales director of his exclusive – and expensive – West End nightclub.
He was drinking heavily. Heavily.
The Times wrote in January 2024 that he would drink: two bottles of rioja, three chocolate martinis, four bottles of Stella Artois, a bottle of beaujolais, nine vodka and tonics and snort a gram of coke – by 3pm each day.
For her part, Denise “couldn’t see the red flags,” Lincoln told the paper. Because she was in that world herself.
She’d recently separated from her husband, actor Tim Healy. She and Lincoln drank and fought in a way that was, by his own description, “unsustainable”.
He went cold turkey, shirking Alcoholics Anonymous in favour of simple self-discipline. When he showed Denise a video he’d recorded of her “smashing up his flat in a drunken rage,” she did the same.
“That day was the start of us channelling that dark energy into good things,” he told the Times. “And look at the life we have now.”
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Denise Welch and Lincoln Townley’s £20 million fortune after Universe art sale
In 2020, during the height of the covid-19 pandemic, Lincoln Townley sold a collection of 22 paintings for a total of £20 million.
Investors used cryptocurrency to buy many of the pieces. The Saatchi gallery then exhibited them for a period towards the end of the year.
Lincoln took inspiration from billionaire space-faring projects for his Universe collection. He cites “visionaries” like Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, specifically, as his muses.
“These people are masters of the universe,” The Sun quotes him as saying, at the time.
“I wanted to expand my own creative ideas by creating extremely colourful pictures of achievement and look at the images of the first man on Mars, the first disco on Mars, the first banker on Venus.”
Among the many art pieces Lincoln has sold during his career are a diamond-encrusted portrait of Princess Diana (£1 million) and a painting of Muhammed Ali (£510,000).
The Diana painting featured more than £100,000 worth of diamonds. Its frame alone contains £20,000 worth of sapphires.
Lincoln’s £7 million luxury Chelsea penthouse featuring artworks
In 2019, before raking in £20 million for his Universe collection, Lincoln Townley splashed out on a luxury Chelsea penthouse worth £7 million.
He bought it with the proceeds of his previous Behind The Mask La Biennale and Greed collections, reports MailOnline.
Lincoln wanted to use the house a “unique way to sell art”, and reckoned it was a “world’s first”.
“I am a big believer than no one can sell my art better than I can,” he told the outlet.
“I do have works with some galleries but I am not exclusive to anyone and I’ve always explored alternate markets such as the crypto world and sales generated via social media and online.”
What do you think of Lincoln’s art? Let us know with a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.
Fans of The Traitors believe Minah is playing the game so incredibly well.
The 29-year-old call centre manager from Liverpool was chosen to be one of three Traitors by host Claudia Winkleman in this series during the first episode. As she continues to breeze through the game, she remains one of the few contestants to not have been questioned.
The Traitors fans believe Minah ‘deserves an Oscar’
During Friday night’s (January 10) episode, Linda, another Traitor, found herself in the firing line at the round table. However, in order to protect her, Minah deflected from Linda and made the group focus on Dan.
As a result, Dan was targeted and ended up receiving the most votes to be eliminated from the game. Revealing to the group that he was a Faithful, the remaining Faithfuls were one member down again.
Viewers, however, were impressed with Minah’s deflecting skills and believe she is playing a blinder.
“Minah can act. It’s quite terrifying,” one user wrote on X.
“I’ll say this every single night, Minah is too good at this game, the heat is off Linda,” another person shared.
“Oh Minah deflecting from Linda to Dan is a MASTERCLASS in Traitorism,” a third remarked.
“Give Minah an Oscar! I want her to make it all the way,” a fourth viewer insisted.
“Minah deserves the win so much, i hope she gets it,” a fifth person said.
“Give Minah an BAFTA, an Oscar an Emmy all the awards tbh,” a sixth user shared.
Minah’s plan to ‘get to the money’
In her interview with the BBC ahead of the series launch, Minah stated that she had a similar personality to series two winner Harry.
“In this game I will cheer everyone on in the Missions to get them done and to get the money. Secretly you’re thinking, I need this lot to work hard to earn my money that I’m going to take at the end!” she said.
When asked how far she is willing to go to win the game, Minah revealed: “I’m naturally very competitive and because I always want to win, I’d do anything. But I also like to be honest with people and I think I’d struggle betraying people I’d become close to. I think in the back of my mind though I’d think I’m doing this for my family and that trumps any of the friendships I might possibly make.”
Read more: The Traitors: Claudia Winkleman reveals injury on set that resulted in being treated by a vet
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