LOVED UP
EastEnders’ Shona McGarty admits she was ‘getting to know’ new fiance while dating co-star Max Bowden
The EastEnders star has announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend David Bracken
SHONA McGarty has opened up meeting her now-fiancé David Bracken for the first time, admitting that she started getting to know the Irish musician two years ago.
Prior to dating David, Shona was in a relationship with her EastEnders co-star Max Bowden.
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Shona, 32, and Max, 29, dated for six months from May to October 2022. The pair became very close very quickly, but called it quits shortly after Max became a father for the first time with his ex-girlfriend, Roisin Buckle.
The pair remained co-stars and friends after their split, with Shona even gushing about her close bond with Max’s mum at the British Soap Awards last year.
Speaking at the awards she said, “It’s lovely to be here tonight because Max’s mum’s here and I haven’t seen her for ages, I adore her. So it’s lovely to catch up with her.”
Then, speaking about Max, she added: "We’re actually better than ever. It’s a friendship, we’re in such a good place.
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“You take a risk, and you do something and it doesn’t work out, but that’s life, you’ve got to take that risk.”
Shona wasted no time moving on as she officially started dating musician David in 2023. The soap star admitted that there may have been some overlap in the early stages, as she was getting to know her new beau.
In a video for Ok! Magazine, which was posted to Instagram, the couple revealed that they first started talking a year before they became official in 2023.
Just a year later, Shona and David announced their engagement.
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The musician took the former EastEnders star out for a romantic date in London’s Holland Park to celebrate their one-year anniversary earlier this month where he popped the question.
In the video the couple explained their relationship timeline, with David saying: “So we met on TikTok two years ago. Well, I messaged. Took her eight months to reply.”
Then Shona chimed in: “We started talking for two years, getting to know each other. And on our first year anniversary…”
“…I proposed,” David said, finishing Shona’s sentence.
She explained that David was very nervous about popping the question. “You did really well. It was beautiful.”
The proposal almost hit a snag as the couple were interrupted by police.
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In a new interview with , David explained: “I went over to the police, who said, ‘Sorry we are just closing up the park’. I said, ‘Would you mind giving me five minutes as I am about to propose to my partner?’ He looked at his watch and said, ‘Of course, and best of luck’.
“So, I told Shona to go stand at the waterfall in the park. I then put on our favourite song and had a dance with her before getting down on one knee.”
Thoughtful David, who is one half of acoustic group Blessed, picked a part of the park that held a special meaning to Shona: the Kyoto Garden.
The Whitney Dean star said: “I love Japanese culture and the spirituality of it. He brought a picnic which was really sweet. It was lovely, I was in my element but I didn’t think he was going to propose at all.”
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Happily, it all went to plan, and the couple are now focused on their future together.
“Now we can look forward to making plans and seeing where this all goes in the future,” David said at the end of the video.
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EastEnders facts and figures
THE beloved British soap has been captivating audiences for decades.
EastEnders follows the lives of the residents of Walford as they navigate love, loss, family drama, and community struggles.
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