FORMER Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden has revealed the brutal way wife Charley Webb dumped him.

The actor – who played David Metcalfe in the ITV soap – met Charley on the job and the pair fell in love, getting married and eventually having three children.

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Matthew Wolfenden has revealed how Charley Webb ended their marriageCredit: Getty

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The couple were together for 15 years and share three sonsCredit: miss_charleywebb/Instagram

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The couple met while both working on EmmerdaleCredit: Instagram
But after 15 years together, Matthew has told how Charley ended their marriage while she was on tour with a play.

Matthew, who had just quit Emmerdale and was at home raising the boys, was about to temporarily move to London for a West End play.

He said: “It was Charley’s decision. Charley decided she wanted to separate.

“It was hard, it was a hard time for me. By this point I’d decided to leave Emmerdale. Charley was on tour with a play called Quiz so I was leaving a job I’d been in for 18 years, I’d just been offered a job in the West End, so it was a big change for me.

“I had the kids full time at that time because Charley was out on tour and then out of the blue I got this news that she wanted to separate.

“It was a tough time for me, it was a time of big changes and then this on top of things wasn’t the best news in the world. But things happen for a reason and yeah.

“It was a very very tough time but these things happen and I’m not the first person in the world to have separated from their partner with kids involved.

“It was the fact that the kids were quite young and it wasn’t only a couple of years ago. That was a concern to me. We had to move onwards.”

He added on podcast The Lewis Nichollls Show: “I didn’t expect it at all, it was a big shock. Separation is very difficult when you’ve spent 15 years together, your lives together and everything you own is together – just sorting out.

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“Especially when the separation happened when Charley was on tour and I was moving to London after leaving Emmerdale.”

But he also revealed after the initial devastation, the former couple put their differences aside and found a way forward.

He added: “Everything was a bit up in the air for the first few months but we’re very very amicable, we’re still friends and we’ve got kids together so you have to be. We’re always going to have a relationship.

“We had the best 15 years together and we had three amazing kids together. But in terms of co-parenting we decided we’d do a week on, week off.

“We kept our house for the time being so the kids didn’t have to move between houses until they got their heads around it really. We wanted it to be as much of a comfortable transition for the kids as possible.”

Real-life soap couples

Soaps are renowned for their sweet and scandalous romances – but it’s not just in scripted storylines where love is blossoming. A number of our favourite small-screen actors have fallen for co-stars and soapland rivals when the cameras have stopped rolling.

Max Parker and Kris Mochrie

Despite playing brothers Luke and Lee Posner on Emmerdale, the pair never actually shared any scenes together. But the pair still fell in love after meeting on set. Max and Kris got together in 2020, moving in together later than same year and got engaged in 2022. In a sweet Instagram post, the couple confirmed they’re planning a 2025 wedding.

Beth Cordingly and Ian Kelsey

Beth, who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan, announced her love for her co-star Ian Kelsey, who played Dean Glover, shortly after she joined Emmerdale at the beginning of 2024. “I am very in love with Ian and very happy. I think it really does work him being an actor too. He has been so fantastic,” she gushed.

Laura Norton and Mark Jordan

Kerry Wyatt and Daz Eden actors Laura and Mark met on the set of Emmerdale in 2014. The couple, who got engaged in 2018, told Loose Women they spent a long time deciding whether they should “just stay as friends.” Although it seems they were meant to be and the pair now share two children together.

Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley

Emmerdale favourites Zoe and Jeff, who play Rhonda Goskirk and Cain Dingle met at drama college in 1994 and have been together ever since. While working together might be too much for some couples, that’s definitely not the case for Zoe and Jeff. Zoe previously told The Sun: “Working on the same show as Jeff also helps because if one of us is having a bad day then the other will completely understand.”

Lesley Dunlop and Chris Chittell

Lesley and Chris are another Dales romantic success story. Unlike some of the other soap stars, the pair who play Brenda Walker and Eric Pollard, are together on and off screen, officially tying the knot in 2016. They also adore working together, but have clear home-work boundaries. “We make a point of not talking about Emmerdale when we’re at home, though – that would be just too sad, wouldn’t it?” Chris revealed.

Sally Carman and Joe Duttine

Abi Franklin and Tim Metcalfe actors Sally and Joe got together after meeting on the set of Coronation Street in 2017 and they tied the knot in July 2022. But unlike some of the Emmerdale stars, Sally and Joe prefer that their characters don’t interact much. Sally previously admitted it “would be horrendous” to work on a storyline with Joe because “he’s too funny.”

Anthony Cotton and Peter Eccleston

Sean Tully may have been unlucky in love on the cobbles, but in real life Antony’s met his Prince Charming. The soap star started dating long-term partner Peter in 2005, after they met when he was working as an assistant props buyer on Corrie.

Jane Danson and Robert Beck

Corrie favourite Jane Danson tied the knot with soap star Robert Beck in 2005. The actress, who plays Leanne Battersby, shares two children, Harry and Sam, with the former Brookside star. During their marriage, Robert has also done a stint in Weatherfield playing criminal Jimmy Dockerson.

Caroline Harding and Chris Gascoyne

Chris, who played pub landlord Peter Barlow, married soap star Caroline in 2002. Although she is best known as an Emmerdale star, Caroline did visit her husband at work when she did a two-episode stint as doctor on the Manchester soap in 2020. The couple share a daughter called Belle, plus two children, Pip and Freddie from Caroline’s previous marriage.

Nadine Mulkerrin and Rory Douglas Speed

Nadine Mulkerrin, and Rory Doulas Speed are known for their Hollyoaks alter egos Cleo McQueen and Joel Dexter. The loved-up pair got engaged on a December 2018 trip to Amsterdam – just over a year after they announced they were dating. They now share two kids, Reggie and Dougie.

Sophie Austin and Shayne Ward

Former Hollyoaks star Sophie, whose best known for playing villain Lindsay Butterfield, was introduced to singer and ex-Corrie star Shayne through mutual friends. She gave birth to their daughter Willow in December 2016 and they welcomed a son in 2022.

And he revealed he’s taken a huge step with his nw girlfriend Heather, who he met while starring in the West End after his split.

Matthew said: “Things do have to come to an end so we’ve just sold our house and me and my new partner have just bought a house so there’s going to be another transition. These thing take time but it’s all good.”

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