Meet the real-life partners of the cast of BBC's The Split

The stars of the BBC drama have better relationships off-screen

Lifestyle Features Editor

March 10, 2020Mar 10, 2020, 3:55 PM GMT

They're no strangers to marital turmoil given their work as divorce lawyers, but thankfully the cast of The Split have happier relationships off-screen! Nicola Walker, Annabel Scholey and Fiona Button are all happily married in real-life, and have given insights into their home lives in interviews and on social media. Meet The Split stars' real-life other halves…

Nicola Walker

Nicola Walker, who plays Hannah Stern, is married to actor Barnaby Kay in real life. The couple married after almost 20 years together to provide a sense of security for their son Harry, who was born in 2006. However, it sounds like Nicola hadn't always dreamed of a big white wedding, and their ceremony was more of an intimate affair. She told Radio Times: "I don’t know if I should tell the truth – it doesn't sound very romantic. I find the whole ceremony of marriage a bit like going to work. Putting on a lovely dress and makeup, learning lines, someone doing your hair … I can see that would be really appealing if you don't do it for a living. It's a public performance. Though we had a really lovely day because we didn’t do that. We had a tiny family thing."

Stephen Mangan

Nicola's on-screen husband Nathan is played by Stephen Mangan, who has been married to Louise Delamere for almost 13 years. The couple are parents to three sons and have even worked together on their own TV show, Hang Ups. While Stephen wrote and starred in the series, Louise worked as the producer, and her brother was a co-writer and director.

Annabel Scholey

You may recognise her as Hannah's sister Nina, who is reckless and has issues with drinking and shoplifting, but away from the screen, Annabel Scholey is happily settled. Annabel married Northern Irish actor Ciaran McMenamin in May 2017, and she has previously revealed they are keen to start a family together. The actress also said she was glad she was already married when she landed her role as a divorce lawyer. "Ciaran and I went on honeymoon to Sicily and the week I got back I auditioned for this and got it," Annabel told The Sunday Post. "Thank God I didn't actually know I was going to be doing a series about divorce while I got married. That would have been a bit weird."

MORE: How and where you can watch the entire series of The Split

Fiona Button

The youngest daughter in the Defoe family, Rose, is portrayed by actress Fiona Button. While we've seen her trying to start a family with her partner James in the second series of the BBC drama, in real life Fiona is a mum to a daughter named Fordy and has been married to Henry Fleet since July 2014. Sharing a photo of the couple sharing their first dance on their wedding day to celebrate their fourth anniversary, Fiona wrote: "Happy Anniversary Henry. The second greatest day of my life. I love you."

Barry Atsma

Barry Atsma is in a relationship with Dutch actress Noortje Herlaar, with whom he shares a young daughter named Bobbi. The actor, who plays Christie in the show, is also a dad to daughters Zoe and Charley from a previous relationship.

Chukwudi Iwuji

The actor, who plays Zander in The Split, married his partner Angela Travino in February 2020. Sharing a photo of their wedding on Instagram, he wrote: "A moment… 2/2/2020."

Ben Bailey Smith

Ben is married to his wife Siobhan, who he met while working part-time for a refugee charity before embarking on his acting career. The couple are parents to two daughters, aged 14 and 11, and Ben has credited Siobhan for his success in a sweet Instagram post, writing: "The secret to my success: as a man, as a father, as an artist… my best mate, my guide, my love, my life… my wife! Saved my life, simple and plain."

Rudi Dharmalingam

Rudi has been with his wife for 20 years since he was 18, and has previously opened up about their relationship, telling BBC: "We've had hard times, we've had amazing times, it all comes down to how much you love that other person. If you really love each other, if you're both willing to get through those difficult times, anything is achievable." He also opened up about their experience of wedding planning, adding: "A big thing that caused a few heated conversations was the table plan – who sits next to who, all the kind of politics that gets in the way."

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