Tamzin Outhwaite, 53, confirmed she has split from her long-term boyfriend Tom Child, 33, on Friday.
The former EastEnders star said she and her former beau, who is 20 years her junior, revealed they had parted ways earlier this summer after six years together.
© Instagram"There has been no acrimonious ending; we've moved on to a friend zone. We are still really great mates, which is nice," she told The Mirror.
Adding: "Maybe before now, I’ve been single but not happy, but I’m quite happy. And being single and happy is a really lovely place to be. And that can only happen with life experience."
© InstagramTamzin and Tom's love blossomed in 2017 after they met in a yoga class. Tom was Tamzin's first serious relationship since her divorce from Miranda actor and father of her two daughters, Flo, 16, and 12-year-old Marnie, Tom Ellis, in 2014.
The Lucifer actor, 45, now lives in the States with his new wife, Meaghan, and daughter Dolly.
© Ian GavanIn July last year, Tamzin shared an insight into the breakdown of her marriage, writing: "Ten years since the father of my kids walked out on us for the final time," she wrote in a now-deleted post on X.
"I still meet new people on jobs who reveal more infidelities and lies that he committed. But thankfully my heart and soul are clear and clean, and I could not be happier right now. #Gratitude."
Tamzin's recent breakup appears to be worlds apart from what she experienced 10 years ago.
Back in 2021, the actress gushed about what an incredible stepdad Tom is to her daughters.
"It takes a really special human to come in as a younger stepdad with two young girls," she told Jenny Powell and Kelly Pegg on The Hot Mess Mum Club podcast.
"To be able to sort of politely back me up with them and say stuff like, 'You can't speak to your mum like that', and sometimes he wants to get more involved, and sometimes the girls would just want to be with him," she continued. "When we are just as we are, we have a wonderful time, and make each other laugh and sing and laugh together. It’s the closest thing to organised chaos."
She also publicly addressed hers and Tom's 20-year age gap during an appearance on ITV's Lorraine in 2020.
"I'll tell you what it is," she told the presenter. "When you get to this age, you stop caring what people think, and I think that’s a really important place to get to. Because now the only opinions that matter are my two girls, and if they adore him, which they do... That's all I need."
