Catherine Tyldesley's dating woes and toyboy romance before finding the one
Catherine Tyldesley became a familiar fixture on our television screens from 2011 to 2018, starring as Eva Prince in Coronation Street, with her character being a bit of a 'princess' who had a number of turbulent relationships on the show.
Away from the Cobbles, Tyldesley is a world away from Eva, with a much less dramatic love life. The 39-year-old who has also taken part in Strictly Come Dancing, previously claimed that men didn't often approach her outside of Corrie, as they were "intimidated" by her character and that it was difficult to find someone who would give her 110 per cent, as she would do for them.
She told The Mirror back in 2012 that she'd been struggling to find lasting love at the time, saying: "I'm so disillusioned with men at the moment. Possibly men are intimidated by my screen character, I don't know. I've been single for a while. I've been on a couple of dates, but it's been quite a long time now."
However, things soon changed for Tyldesley and she began dating her personal trainer Sam Witter, who was seven years her junior and had helped her to tone up. The pair also started a business together, called Dream Partners Limited, and were planning to release a fitness DVD.
Tydesley and Witter dated for a year and she is even thought to have helped nab him a role as an extra on Corrie during this time, according to the Mail. A source told the publication that it was lust at first sight for the couple, but it took a while for their friendship to progress into something more.
Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundariesThe couple didn't last too long though and split in 2013, but they wanted to keep things amicable for the sake of their company. Two months after the break-up they reportedly had a change of heart and decided to give things another go.
A source at the time told The Mirror: "They had a relationship break but still continued to train together and this has brought them back together again. They had a discussion about what they both want and have come to the conclusion they want to be together."
Their second-chance romance sadly fizzled out quickly and the pair went their separate ways. But in 2014, Tydesley found true love with photographer Tom Pitfield and after a nine-month whirlwind romance, they announced they were expecting their first child together and later welcomed a little boy named Alfie James.
The big question was soon popped and they were engaged for two years before tying the knot on May 21, 2016, in a lavish ceremony attended by many Coronation Street co-stars. The actress took to Twitter at the time of her engagement, posting to her thousands of followers: "So pleased to tell you all that I'm going to be Mrs Pitfield :-) I said YES!!! Love you @TP_PTfitness So happy :-) what a year!!!"
The couple has since welcomed their second child, a little girl named Iris Ella, who was born in April 2022, and Tydesley often shares gorgeous snaps of her family online, praising her children and husband. The pair have gone from strength to strength, with one recent post on Instagram sharing her thoughts on her husband to celebrate Father's Day 2023.
Her loving post read: "Best. Dad. Ever. Someone said to me recently that the best piece of advice they'd been given was 'be careful who you chose to have kids with!' I think that's spot on!! They're not as golden as this one!! Wise advice. Find someone who has a heart as big as the ocean, the patience of a saint, and has SHED loads of energy!
"@tompitfieldphotography you go above and beyond every single day. You are the biggest of heroes to our children. I also think it's safe to say my inner child is very present so I am aware of how full your plate must feel my love. We love and appreciate you every single day in every single way. Thanks for knocking me up."
On Wednesday, Catherine was forced to respond to claims that a party planner asked a bakery for free cakes for her in exchange for social media exposure. Party planners NVRLND reached out to Three Little Birds Bakery in Keighley, West Yorkshire to ask for some cakes for the actress' 40th birthday bash in exchange for "social media exposure" across Cath's social media and in a magazine.
The owner of the bakery hit back at the offer, originally saying the party planners were acting for a previously unnamed but "well-known celebrity". That was later claimed to be Catherine. However, she has since responded in a video uploaded to her Instagram story to clarify she did not know the emails were being sent.
Catherine said: "Cake gate, what! So I have no idea those emails were being sent. I'm not working with the lovely OK! Magazine on anything that I'm aware of and NVRLAND are an amazing company. They've supplied me with performers in the past. They're insane and they've been completely misrepresented in this matter. Utterly bizarre. Don't really know what to say. I mean I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving."
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