Soap star Michelle Collins has opened up about her romantic struggles off-screen, ahead of her dramatic Christmas episode on EastEnders.
Michelle, renowned for her portrayal of Cindy Beale on EastEnders, has experienced a love life as dramatic as her on-screen character. The star has candidly discussed her challenges with love, acknowledging that she was probably focused on the "wrong" things before finding stability in her 50s.
Michelle shared her romantic journey with Kaye Adams on the How To Be 60 podcast, saying: "I just seem to be one of these people who it's taken me a long time to find myself. I was maybe looking in the wrong places, looking for the wrong people."
She added: "My life was a bit dramatic I suppose. I had a complicated love life. I worked a lot, but my personal life wasn't always great. I probably never met the right man in my life and I was a very strong woman."
Image:
Getty Images for the NTA's)Image:
PA)In the 1990s, she was in a relationship with Fabrizio Tassalini, with whom she has a daughter, Maia Rose, born in 1996. Their relationship ended in 1998, but they remained close for the sake of their daughter. Tragically, Fabrizio passed away in October 2014 after battling liver cancer.
Reflecting on their time together and the struggles she endured after their split, Michelle shared her feelings of failure and the emotional toll it took on her. Looking back on their time together and the challenges she faced after their split, the Michelle shared with the Mirror how she coped with the pain of the break-up and the actions it led her to take.
She told us: "I felt like I’d been tipped over the edge. I felt like a failure and found myself sinking lower and lower as the days went on, until in the end I couldn’t seem to pull myself out of the hole. I remember swallowing some pills. There was no definite plan or explicit decision behind my actions. It just happened." Michelle has since remarried - to Mike Davidson. They announced their engagement in April 2022 and married in August 2022.
Image:
BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)Michelle also recently told us that EastEnders viewers will 'hate Cindy' after watching tonight's episode. Speaking to The Mirror ahead of the big episodes airing, Michelle, who returned as baddie Cindy last year, teased the fallout to the big episode. With scenes being kept under wraps for an epic Christmas Day viewing, Michelle warned that it could lead to viewers hating her even more.
Michelle spilled: "She’s very unpredictable, you never know what she's going to be doing next thanks to Simon Ashdown [EastEnders writer]. She’s a joy to play. People love to hate her. I don’t know, after this maybe they'll just hate her and want her gone."
The actress shared she was thrilled to learn last year that Cindy would be back to her villainous ways, after months of her appearing to have turned a corner. From ordering a hit on husband Ian to her many flings, past Cindy was completely ruthless - and it was only going to be a matter of time before the 'changed' Cindy reverted back to her old ways.
Michelle revealed: "When she came back it was great and I was very thankful and everything, but I was like where is Cindy? We want the old Cindy back. I remember Chris [Clenshaw] last year saying, ‘Don’t worry Michelle, it's gonna be alright, she's gonna come back’.”
Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
English (US) ·