EastEnders actress Samantha Womack announced last week that she had secretly split from her husband of eleven years in 2018.
Days after the shock revelation, Samantha’s husband, Emmerdale actor Mark, 59, was pictured without his wedding ring.
In an interview last week Samantha, 47, confirmed the couple have been separated for a while but are cohabiting ‘happily’ with their children Benjamin, 19, and Lili Rose, 15, at their Bedfordshire farmhouse.
Split: Mark Womack was pictured without his wedding ring last week, days after his wife of eleven years, EastEnders actress Samantha announced they had secretly split in 2018
Mark was pictured making a phone call three days after Sam’s interview was published, with his wedding band off.
Dressed casually in shorts, a t-shirt and baseball cap, the actor talked animatedly on his phone.
In her interview, Samantha who is also stepmum to Mark’s son Michael, 25, from a previous relationship, insisted she and Mark are amicable and are in ‘no rush’ to change their unconventional living situation.
The media personality told OK! magazine: ‘Our family home is big enough and we’re co-existing happily. There’s no rush to change things.
Break up: In an interview last week Samantha, 47, confirmed the couple have been separated for a while but are cohabiting ‘happily’ with their children Benjamin, 19, and Lili Rose, 15 (pictured in 2014)
‘But now feels like the right time to be honest and admit we’re no longer together. It would be naive to say that moving on has been easy for us both. It’s not an easy route but we’ve always been honest with each other about everything.’
The TV star, who met the Emmerdale actor, 59, on the set of Liverpool 1 back in 1998 and tied the knot in May 2009, admitted she wants to be ‘best friends’ with her ex’s future partners as they’ve started to see other people since their break-up and even give each other dating advice.
Samantha and Mark started their romance soon after their respective marriages ended.
The blonde called it quits from Junfan Mantovani in 1998 after just one year of marriage, while the Liverpool native was married to Mary Therese McGoldrick from 1995 until 1997.
No ring: Mark was pictured making a phone call three days after Sam’s interview was published, with his wedding band off
Moving on: Dressed casually in shorts, a t-shirt and baseball cap, the actor talked animatedly on his phone
Samantha revealed talks of a split started ‘about four years ago’ as her husband wanted to lead a ‘quiet life’ while she is ‘more out there’.
Despite being separated for quite some time, the theatre star insisted they’ve had ‘some of their best times together’ as a family during the coronavirus lockdown.
The mother-of-two candidly confessed she feared she and Mark ‘failed’ as a couple, but is content their son and daughter are ‘happy that we’re happy’ as they’re ‘soulmates’ and ‘still love each other’.
Early beginnings: The TV star met the Emmerdale actor, 59, on the set of Liverpool 1 back in 1998 (pictured in 1998)
‘We’re soulmates’: Samantha and Mark have taken things slow when it comes to divorcing legally, and are even considering getting a house abroad (pictured in 2000)
Earlier this year, Murphy’s Law star Mark appeared on Lorraine Kelly to discuss his new stint on Emmerdale, but kept mum on his split from Samantha.
The Brighton-born star said that they had sat down with their kids to decide when was the right time to announce the news publicly, with friends and family already being aware of the breakdown of their marriage.
Samantha and Mark have taken things slow when it comes to divorcing legally, and are even considering getting a house abroad and having two places to live.
‘We wanted to find the right time’: In March, the Murphy’s Law star appeared on Lorraine to discuss his new stint on Emmerdale, but kept mum on his split from Samantha (pictured)