EastEnders favourite Natalie Cassidy has opened up about the reasons behind her lengthy engagement and spilled the details on what she envisions for her dream wedding.
Chatting on the Memory Lane podcast, the soap star revealed that time and budget have been the main factors delaying her walk down the aisle with fiancé Marc Humphreys. Despite leaning towards a "something small" ceremony, Natalie confessed she's not willing to compromise on luxury, stating: "Do you know what? It's a lot of money.
"No, I tell you what it is; it's time and budget. It is because I go, 'I'll only do something small; I don't need to...'" She added, "I will do it small but I want to be at The Ledbury. Oh, I want a Michelin star meal or I'm just a bit of a snob genuinely."
And when it comes to the finer details, she's clear: "I'll want the best flowers and I will want a designer suit."
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Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)Image:
John Phillips/Getty Images)Natalie, known for her long-standing role as Sonia Fowler, began dating BBC cameraman Marc in 2014 and they got engaged a year later. Speaking to OK!, she shared how much they still "fancy the pants off each other" and their mutual desire to tie the knot.
Natalie also touched on her indecisiveness, alternating between dreams of a grand wedding and "somewhere really easy". Looking ahead, she mused about the perfect timing for the big day: "Ten years would be a brilliant time to do it. Either 10 years together or 10 years engaged."
Natalie candidly opened up about her home life, revealing that her youngest daughter, Joanie, has taken a keen but critical eye to EastEnders. Speaking on Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Spinning Plates podcast, the actress shared that while she herself is an "avid fan", her daughter isn't exactly thrilled with her mum's portrayal of Sonia Fowler.
Natalie recounted with a laugh: "She says, 'Mummy, Sonia is so boring'. I said, 'Oh that's really nice' and she said, 'No I just don't like watching you on here'. She said, 'Honestly I just don't like it'."
Natalie previously spoke out about the 'fat-shaming' she endured while lighting up the Strictly Come Dancing floor. In 2022, she told The Sun: "I was about 4 stone bigger than I am now. Vincenzo was quite little. And I remember one week, it was like 'Oh, we're going to do this dance, but you're going to pick up Vincent.'" Reflecting on that experience, she expressed her feelings, saying: "I think about it now and think, 'oh that was out of order. That was a bit out of order to me.' You couldn't do that now."
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