Soap Awards host Jane McDonald's tragic heartbreak made her swear off dating
Jane McDonald is the star of the show at the British Soap Awards tonight as the 60-year-old hosts the fancy television shindig.
But while she might be all smiles for the cameras, the former Loose Women star has been through a lot over the last few years.
Her life was devastatingly changed in March 2021 when she lost her 'soul mate' and partner of 13 years.
The singer had been in a relationship with Walter 'Eddie' Rothe since 2008 after they were re-introduced by a mutual friend, having dated before as teenagers.
Their rekindled romance took off at whirlwind speed and on Christmas Eve the drummer for The Searchers got down on one knee and asked Jane to marry him.
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The pair then embarked on an engagement that would last more than a decade as they were in no rush to wed - but sadly they'd never make it down the aisle.
Jane and Eddie had been engaged since 2008 (Getty)The pair's relationship first began way back in 1980 when Jane was just 17 years old.
They dated for six months, before splitting up so she could focus on her career as a cruise ship singer and TV personality.
Following this, she ended up marrying a man named Paul from 1986 to 1987, but little is known about their short-lived relationship.
She then went on to meet her second husband, Henrick Brixen while filming BBC's The Cruise.
Danish-born Henrick worked as a plumbing engineer on the same boat and the pair married in 1998, with her husband soon taking on the role of her manager.
But things didn't work out so well and the pair parted ways in 2003 both romantically and professionally.
She admitted that he tried his best and was "brilliant" in his role but he simply "didn't know the industry" so he walked away from their marriage in order to help her.
"We'd come to a point where Henrik had made quite a few enemies," she told The Mirror. "And he said, 'If I don't leave you, you are never going to have a career'."
The pair first met when Jane was just 17 (Collect Unknown)But this meant that Jane would be single in time to reconnect with her former flame Eddie.
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The pair were engaged by the end of 2008 and Jane joked to The Mirror in 2011 that they had the "longest courtship and engagement in history".
Despite this, she claimed they were "not rushing to get married" and praised her fiancé for being "so patient".
Part of the wait was due to Jane not wanting to "jinx" the relationship, after two previous divorces.
"I love this one more than I ever loved the others and I don't want to jinx it," she told the publication.
"In any case, I can't afford to get divorced again."
She later joked that she needed to double-check with her partner that he did indeed still want to marry her, as it had been so long she wasn't sure.
After so many years, any wedding plans were then shattered by lockdown restrictions amid the Coronavirus pandemic and a terminal illness.
Eddie was diagnosed with lung cancer and tragically died at the Wakefield Hospice in West Yorkshire in March 2021.
A spokesperson for Jane took to social media to announce the heartbreaking news "with immense sadness".
The post featured a snap of the two together and thanked NHS staff who had cared for him the last few months.
Jane says she's never loved anyone as much as Eddie
They got engaged the same year they rekindled their romance (WireImage)McDonald has since shared that she is "quite happy" with her life and has no plans for another relationship or dating.
While she's sworn off dating for the meantime but not forever, she's not looking for anything now as she says she had "the best" relationship with Eddie.
However, in November 2022 Jane revealed she had a 'new man' in her life after her niece gave birth to a baby boy and named him Ed in tribute to her long-term love.
Speaking about the baby, she said: "He's so beautiful, I can't believe it.
"My niece Katie has had a little baby boy and they've called him Ed. He's just gorgeous. I'm loving it and relishing it and spending time with Katie and Tom and my family and just seeing this new life.
"I'm so in love, I didn't know you could feel that."
She added that she was doing "so much better" with her grief now saying: "I have more good days now than bad days and I relish those now
"I was very lucky - I've always had a very busy life without a partner, so I've been able to just carry on and my fans were just incredible.
"They got me through so much over the tour, so I'm very grateful."
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