Inside Emmerdale’s Natalie J Robb and Jonny McPherson’s relationship and how they kept split secret for MONTHS
EMMERDALE stars Natalie J Robb and Jonny McPherson have split after almost a year together - but how did they keep it secret?
The former couple - who play farmer Moira Barton and Dr Liam Cavanagh in the ITV soap - had an unexpected lockdown romance last year.
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Having known each other for years as friends and co-stars, they grew closer on a charity trip in late 2019.
Just three months after making things official the country was plunged into lockdown and they made the decision to move in together and give their burgeoning romance a shot - and a test.
The notoriously private couple managed to keep their decision private - without actually actively hiding it.
And it was later that fans spotted them on a Zoom call together for co-star Liam Fox's birthday.
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With strict social distancing rules in place, people quickly realised that they were living together.
And later the couple confirmed their relationship and spoke openly about it.
However, several months later as their characters were less in the forefront of the soap, interview questions died down.
Earlier this year the couple decided to call time on their romance, with Jonny moving out of Natalie's house and onto his houseboat.
He also adopted a dog, Molly, from the RSPCA.
And despite speaking about life on his houseboat on social media, their lack of attention-seeking posts meant that fans had no idea about the split.
Unlike other celebrity couples, the pair didn't broadcast their relationship in downmarket magazines for cash or plaster it all over social media - while bleating for privacy when it suits.
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It was only this week with Jonny's character Liam at the centre of a major storyline that he's returned to prominence with an interview on Lorraine.
He didn't speak about his relationship once - and sources quickly confirmed that the couple had in fact split months ago.
The former couple had no comment to make when approached by The Sun.