After dating for more than a year, Jessie Wallace reportedly got engaged.
The 51-year-old EastEnders star is reportedly prepared to marry 50-year-old carpenter Justin Gallwey.
In a picture obtained by The Sun, the actress was spotted slipping into a gas station close to her North London home to buy a bottle of wine while sporting a gold band on her ring finger.
It’s said that Jessie and Justin have been friends since they were teenagers.
After being detained last June for allegedly assaulting a police officer and being intoxicated and disorderly outside a Suffolk nightclub, Jessie is said to view handyman Justin as a stabilising force in her life who is assisting her in overcoming her afflictions.
She was given a warning before being let go without being charged.
Shortly after the reported incident, the pair appeared in their first joint photo.
I just want to protect her, he said at the time, according to The Sun on Sunday. Things are fine and everything is happy.
A BBC spokesman said that the star afterwards expressed her “deep sorrow” for the event, adding that “senior executives have spoken to Jessie Wallace about the incident and delivered a clear warning that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable.”
According to a person who spoke to the press about this recent development, Jessie has been proudly wearing the ring. Justin is known to keep a Jessie doll from Toy Story in his truck.
She also posted a photo of them holding hands in a bar last year, writing it “My hubby,” in an apparent hint at future intentions.
Jessie, who has intermittently played Kat Slater in the BBC One serial since 2000, was formerly engaged to Vincent Morse. The couple was supposed to get married in 2011, but the wedding was postponed at the last minute.
Tallulah, her 18-year-old daughter, is her child with her ex-police partner Dave Morgan.
Not long after she was born, the couple separated.