Archie star Kara Tointon had many high-profile relationships, before moving away from the UK to focus on her two sons.
From a breakthrough role in EastEnders to Strictly victory with her ex-beau, Kara has established herself as one of the biggest TV stars. She is now playing the lead role in the drama miniseries Archies.
So, who has Kara dated in the past? Why did she split from the father of her sons, and who is she dating in 2024? Here’s a timeline of her tumultuous love life.
Kara Tointon’s ‘first love’ was from her relationship with James Bourne
Her “first love” was Busted singer James Bourne who she started dating when she was only a teenager. Their relationship ended after seven years together.
She was accused of “dumping” the musician because his band split. But she claims they had called it quits on their relationship five months before the Busted dismantled. They were together until 2005.
Responding to rumours about her relationship with James, Kara Tointon shared: “It was horrible that people would think I’d break up with James because he was no longer in the band. He just said, ‘If you’re an actress, you’ve got to get used to this’.”
Romance with Terry Kiely
The actress, who played Dawn on the BBC soap, went on to date Terry Kiely after moving on from her musician ex. They split after dating for 18 months in July 2006.
While Kara Tointon insisted her busy schedule was causing issue in her relationship with Terry, sources stated a different reason. An insider told The Mirror: “Kara and James are good mates and are always fooling around together,” referring to her co-star from EastEnders who would later become her boyfriend.
But Kara said: “We’re both very busy – although I hate to think work could have been a factor.”
She dated her EastEnders co-star
In March 2007, she was dating her EastEnders co-star James Alexandrou. She was 23 at the time and never thought of getting involved with “someone at work” – but she did.
Talking about her relationship to The Mirror, the star said: “You worry about whether it’s right. But in the end, you can’t help who you fall for. He’s a wonderful person who’s very generous and always thinks about everyone else.”
“And the fact is, it wasn’t like a normal office where you sit at desks next to each other. In the time he was here, we only had two scenes together, so we didn’t really see each other at work, except in the green room.”
She admitted to building a strong friendship with James before they became an item. They became close while working on the sets of their show, although they did a few scenes together.
Kara finally agreed to go on a date with James two months after splitting from Terry, who she was still dating at the time.
“We were friends for so long, and it was easy when we went on our first date. We went to the cinema because he loves films,” she gushed.
But their short-lived relationship ended in November of the same year and sources said, “It is all very amicable,” according to Sunday Mirror.
Whirlwind romance with Joe Swash
Kara and Joe Swash’s whirlwind romance started years after they met on the sets of their show. The actors who played siblings on the show went public with their relationship in November 2008.
They were head over heels for each other and the I’m A Celebrity star had marriage on her “mind”, according to The Mirror. However, rumours about tension in their relationship started swirling towards the end of 2009.
Reportedly they were bickering a lot – sources claim they had repeated “epic rows” backstage when they starred in Snow White at Bristol’s Hippodrome.
They called quits on their relationship in May 2010 and she went to Marbella with her friends to “get her head together”.
One source claimed: “Both she and Joe are really upset about it – but their rows were getting too frequent and they knew they couldn’t make it work anymore.”
While Joe accepted to have contributed to the failure of their relationship, she moved on with her Strictly dancing partner Artem Chigvintsev.
Joe reflected at the time: “It was all down to me, and nothing to do with Kara,” the lovesick star confessed. She genuinely does everything right. It was my fault it broke down. I didn’t know what I had until she was gone.”
He even confessed that it “hurt” him a lot when he learned his ex and the Russian hunk were an “item.” Joe wanted to cheer for Kara in the dancing competition, but he wasn’t fully over her. Joe said: “I wanted to watch Strictly to support her but I knew it was going to rip my heart out.”
But he has since moved on and started a family with his wife Stacey Solomon. The couple shares three biological children – Rex, Rose and Belle, and three more from their respective previous relationships.
Strictly boyfriend
The Archie star and Artem were perhaps one of the hottest TV couples. They met on Strictly, danced their way to victory and dated for four years from 2010 to 2014.
She told The Telegraph’s Mandrake column: “‘We are not together. We’re fine, but we aren’t a couple any more. The reason I haven’t spoken about it is because I hate reading about myself in that way.”
Reportedly, Artem’s visa allowed him very little time in the UK, so the pair found it increasingly difficult to spend time with each other. She wanted to focus on her role as Rosalie in Mr Selfridge instead.
Artem later married WWE wrestler Nikki Bella, who was his dancing partner in the 2017 version of Strictly. He was recently in the news for getting arrested in California over charges of alleged domestic violence.
It was revealed that he did not face any charges and was released on a £19,000 bond. However, it isn’t known if his wife was involved in his arrest, reports BBC.
Engagement with Marius Jensen
Kara dated Marius Jensen for ten months in 2016. The couple got engaged in 2018 after dating for two years. The EastEnders actress was also pregnant with their first child at the time.
Marius, a registered chiropractor, went on to have a second child with Kara in 2021. They share two sons – Frey and Helly. The couple split a few months after welcoming their second child.
A source told The Sun: “Kara and Marius quietly separated around ten months ago. There was no wrong-doing on either side, and they both still care about each other.”
“But they came to the decision that there was no future for them as a couple. They remain friends, and are both very committed to co-parenting their two children.”
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Life away from the UK
It isn’t known who Kara is dating right now, but Manchester Evening reports she is focused on her duties as a mother while living in Norway.
“Now I have children so my priority is to be at home as much as possible. I live in Norway now – we’ve upped sticks and we’re there.”
She continued: “I travel back and forth, and in a way, I suppose I just go with the peaks and troughs willingly because it gives me the opportunity to be at home with my children.”
Read more: EastEnders fans gobsmacked by Stacey Slater’s bap prices: I’m off to Walford!
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