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Daily Record
Entertainment
Daniel Bird & Siobhan Macdonald

EastEnders star Kacey Ainsworth splits from husband after 18 years and finds love with fellow actor

EastEnders actress Kacey Ainsworth split from her husband of 18 years and has moved on with a fellow actor.

The soap star, who is best known as 'Little Mo' on the BBC soap, has found love again with fellow actor Liam Tobin following her split. It's not known when or why Kacey, 54, split with her husband Darren Hales but it's been reported that the couple parted ways during lockdown.

The Mirror reports that Kacey met new beau Liam during their stint working on Then And Now in 2020 as the couple went public with their relationship the following year. Sharing a snap of her boyfriend for his 50th birthday in 2021, Kacey gushed over her 'lovely fella'.

Sharing a snap of the pair, she wrote: "So Our Liam is 50. What a blast of a party... so many thanks on behalf of us all, including everyone who made it there to celebrate with the lovely fella. Like attracts Like I guess."

Kacey shares her two children Blossom, 18, and Elwood, 14, with ex-husband Darren. The actress later revealed she opted for a lessor workload after their youngest Elwood was confirmed to be on the autism spectrum when he was six.

Kacey pictured with her reported ex husband Darren in 2005 (Getty)

Speaking about her decision, she explained that her hectic work schedule would be "too chaotic" for Elwood. Kacey said she had no idea that her son may be on the spectrum until a nursery teacher brought it to her attention when he was three years old.

She told the Mirror: "I was really shocked, he went to our local communication disorder clinic and I sat behind glass and watched my child being assessed by an ­educational psychologist, speech therapist and a child psychologist. It was ­excruciating.

The actress is best known for starring at Little Mo in EastEnders (BBC)

"It was a sad day because you have a baby and you want things to be normal, you have to go through that grieving process where you think – this isn’t what I'd set out for."

This comes amid fan speculation that Kacey may return to EastEnders after her on-screen son Freddie Slater, played by Bobby Brazier, returned to Albert Square.

Speaking on Loose Women, the star who last appeared on the soap in 2006 said: "It's always the same thing, it's a never say never. I literally don't have any time at the moment."

But fans still recognise the actress as Little Mo Slater and often heckle her in the street, which Kacey loves and finds amusing when people say they watched her on screens when they were younger.

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