CUTE COUPLE
EastEnders and Celeb X Factor hunk dating stunning actress after split with ex
The actor retrained in a very different career after leaving the soap
EX-EASTENDERS star Jonny Labey looks to have found love with a stunning actress six months after splitting from his famous ex-girlfriend.
Actor Jonny, who is best known for playing Paul Coker in the BBC soap, had been in a year-long relationship with Hannah Amin before they quietly unfollowed each other on social media late last year.
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The former soap favourite, who has since retrained as as a barber, has shared a picture of Margherita Barbieri on Instagram, calling her "my life".
The snap shows Margherita, who stars as Simone Souter in Hulu series Spellbound, posing in front of a Ferris wheel during a night out in Liverpool.
The former EastEnders star has also been leaving a string of flirty and loved-up emojis on Margherita’s snaps in recent weeks.
It’s thought that the pair grew closer after Margherita appeared in a film that Jonny was directing earlier this year.
In an interview with ReVamp, Margherita drew comparisons between herself and her Spellbound character.
She said: "My character, Simone, is a free spirited, determined and fearlessly passionate student at The Paris Opera Ballet School. We have pockets full of things in common, both being half Italian, very arty, in love with dancing, and both having very ambitious mindsets, sensitive emotions and vivid energy."
Trained ballet dancer Margherita overcame an eating disorder in her teens that at one point saw her weigh just four stone.
At the time she lived off a single bowl of porridge a day and had a long lists of foods she was too afraid to eat. Thankfully she has recovered.
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In her interview from last September, she candidly spoke about how she learned to be comfortable in her own skin.
"I held myself back for a while, because I was scared of looking silly and of having fun," she said. "I also felt like I didn’t deserve to be ridiculously happy, which I have now thankfully got past.
EastEnders star switches careers to completely different job - seven years after soap exit
"I’ve stopped holding myself back, I find joy in silliness, in being young and feeling free, I’ve let go of overly valuing what people may be thinking, and I’ve fallen helplessly, unconditionally, utterly, overwhelmingly in love with myself and this life…
"I wish I had been fearless sooner, I wish I hadn’t been so scared to be myself. So be silly, have fun, love giving love, to yourself and to others, hug people more, make mistakes, pull a clumsy face and move on. Be serious with your dreams, protective of your energy, yet playful with your imagination."
Meanwhile, Jonny joined the cast of EastEnders as Les and Pam Coker’s grandson Paul in 2015.
His character fell in love with Ben Mitchell but was killed off in a horrific homophobic attack a year later.
Since leaving he has gone to forge a successful career and has appeared as a judge on CBBC dance series Taking the Next Step, alongside Marlon Swoosh and Kimberly Wyatt.
He has also starred in a string of huge stage shows including Strictly Ballroom: The Musical, Lin Manuel Miranda’s Into the Heights and White Christmas.
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In 2019 he wowed ITV viewers with his smooth vocals on a celebrity version of The X Factor.
And he also became the first winner of ITV’s Dance Dance Dance alongside his then-fiancée Chrissy. The couple got engaged following their win, they split three years later after growing apart.
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