Emmerdale actress Fiona Wade, who plays Priya Kotecha, in the ITV soap must be pretty fed up when it comes to her alter ego and men!
Priya has struggled to maintain a relationship and the scars she bears as a result of the burns she suffered last year have knocked her confidence even more.
Fortunately, in real life actress Fiona is far more settled – and completely loved up – with her husband, Simon Cotton.
Simon, a former Emmerdale star himself, and Fiona married in 2019, but how did they meet? And when did Simon star in the Dales?
Emmerdale: Who is Fiona Wade married to?
Fiona married fellow actor Simon Cotton in October 2019.
He had proposed on New Year’s Eve with Fiona admitting she was in “floods of tears” when he popped the question at her family home in Hertfordshire.
Speaking in a joint interview with OK! magazine, Fiona added: “It took me longer than Simon. I don’t fall into relationships easily, but I wanted to be really sure.
“Everything with Simon is just so easy. He’s also amazing with my mum, which is really important.”
She said: “The proposal was perfect. I was in floods of tears.”
Following their big day, the actress revealed they were keen to start a family.
Did Fiona Wade meet her husband on Emmerdale? Who did he play?
Simon and Fiona met at Emmerdale after he appeared on the hit soap briefly in August 2017.
He played Home Farm estate client Hugh Bryant.
Fans may recall that Hugh was unimpressed by Rebecca White’s organisational skills when she was left to run the business alone after a divide in her family.
He ended up terminating his contract with them and was never seen again.
Although Fiona and Simon never appeared together on-screen, they certainly hit it off off-screen!
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Fiona and Simon’s fairy-tale wedding
Simon and Fiona got married in 2019
Fiona told OK! that the Emmerdale cast members were the life and soul of the party.
“Everyone was on the dancefloor until 1.30am. The Emmerdale lot didn’t leave the dancefloor.”
Prior to the evening celebrations, Fiona had walked down the aisle with her mum, Tessie, having lost her father to oesophageal cancer in 2005.
Co-stars including Michelle Hardwick and her wife Kate Brooks watched them exchange vows before sharing a tender kiss as they were pronounced man and wife.
And Fiona and Simon, who had spent six weeks apart before the marriage due to Simon being on tour, were looking forward to moving in together. Fiona’s religion, Bahá’í, doesn’t believe in living together before marriage.
Priya’s Emmerdale love life!
Priya’s most recent relationship was with Ellis Chapman
The slept together back in March 2021, but she was on the rebound from his dad, Al, who had cheated on her with Debbie Dingle.
After finally admitted they liked each other for real, Priya and Ellis’s relationship was cut short when she was badly burned in the maize maze fire.
The scars on her back and pain she felt meant she pushed everyone away.
Ellis eventually left Emmerdale with the couple admitting they wished things could have been different as they did love each other.
Who else has Priya dated?
An ill-fated romance with Cain Dingle was first for Priya, but their affair ended when she discovered he’d got Amy Wyatt pregnant.
Next, Priya fell head over heels for David Metcalfe and the pair began a romance. But David was married to Alicia Metcalfe, though at the time their relationship was a fake.
Priya and David got engaged. But when Cameron Murray held the Woolpack up in an armed siege, Alicia got shot. David went with her to hospital and it was clear the pair had real feelings for one another.
And so, he jilted poor Priya on their wedding day.
Priya then discovered she was pregnant with his baby. She struggled through her pregnancy because she was suffering from an eating disorder, and had a dramatic birth. But thankfully, baby Amba was soon fighting fit, and Priya recovered.
Desperate for a happy ending, Priya decided to pursue an arranged marriage with handsome older man Rakesh Kotecha.
Who was Rakesh Kotecha in Emmerdale?
Rakesh was soon revealed to be totally untrustworthy. He faked paternity test results to trick son Kirin into thinking he wasn’t the father of Vanessa Woodfield‘s baby, Johnny. He then helped Kirin to flee the country when he ran over and killed Tess Harris.
And then, crippled with debt, Rakesh burned down Mill Cottage for the insurance, leaving Nicola King with serious injuries and even began embezzling funds from the Sharmas’ business.
And Priya stood by her man the whole time.
After Rakesh got mixed up in the Whites’ dodgy dealings, Priya decided enough was enough and ran him out of the village.
Priya moves on
Much of the focus of Priya’s life recently has been coming to terms with the scars she has on her back.
She has struggled with body confidence and pushed everyone away.
Marlon Dingle was the one who finally helped her.
They shared their struggles and he promied her he would walk down the aisle to marry Rhona if Priya showed off her scars at the wedding.
And Priya keeps her end of the deal when she whips off her jacket and dances without a care.
Is she finally ready to move on?
And does this mean she might be ready to love again too?
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale this year?
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
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