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Lucy Needham

Inside Ryan Thomas and Tina O'Brien's romance and split after row allegations

Exes Ryan Thomas and Tina O'Brien hit the headlines this weekend after it was alleged the pair were embroiled in an ugly row at 1am in the morning.

Ryan is said to have accused former girlfriend Tina of striking his Range Rover off with a baseball bat - resulting in scratched paintwork and one of the wing-mirror's smashing.

The former couple have reportedly not spoken to each other since the spat, which is alleged to have taken place in the early hours of last Sunday morning.

A source told The Sun: "Tina, who was at a pal’s house party, came out into the street to meet him as he drove up. Soon after that his car was damaged with the baseball bat."

Tina and Ryan played on-screen lovers Sarah and Jason, but they also dated for six years in real life (ITV)
The Coronation Street wedding of Sarah Platt and Jason Grimshaw - which typically ended in disaster (PA)

The insider described it as "quite a disturbing incident" and that a 'furious' Ryan drove away as soon as he could.

Tina and Ryan who dated for six years after meeting on the set of Coronation Street, are said to barely speak anymore.

Despite their history, the couple continue to co-parent daughter Scarlett, who the parents celebrated landing a role on Waterloo Road last month.

We take a look at the soap star couple's evolving relationship...

Love on the cobbles

As the hot young stars of ITV's Coronation Street, Tina and Ryan were the soap couple of the moment when they first fell for each other in 2003.

The romance came as a surprise to some as Tina hd previously dated Bruno Langley, who played Ryan's on-screen brother Todd.

"It was five months later when I got together with Ryan and I was worried about it as he's a friend of Bruno," admitted Tina.

"But we worked hard to make sure there wasn't any tension between the three of us," she told The Mirror in 2007, revealing she got together with Ryan after kissing him on a night out.

Tina said she snogged Ryan on a cast night out after trying to fight her feelings (FilmMagic)

"It was very, very hard because I liked him. We both tried to fight it. We must have really liked each other because we did it anyway, it was quite natural.

"Ryan and me are for keeps. I think we'll be together for ever, fingers crossed. I don't see myself with anyone else," she continued.

Tina quit the soap the same year after finding out she was pregnant with daughter Scarlett.

Todd, played by Bruno Langley, walks in on brother Jason and Sarah in bed together (Press Association)

She later said that she had been planing to return before Ryan talked her out of it.

"Maybe he knew he was going to end it and didn't want the hassle of us working together," she told new! magazine.

She did eventually rejoin Corrie in 2015, and Ryan departed the following year, heading Down Under to star in Neighbours.

The break-up

Tina gave birth to daughter Scarlett Jacqueline Thomas in October 2008, andmonths later her relationship with Ryan hit the rocks.

The couple's split was said to be anything but amicable with Tina once claiming that Ryan dumped her just a week before their daughter Scarlett's first birthday because she 'just didn't do it for him anymore.'

"He said he didn't love me any more," the 'devastated' star told new! magazine, admitting they had struggled with the new dynamic of parenthood.

Tina said she was 'devastated' by the break-up, which came just 8 months after she gave birth (PA)
Tina with daughter Scarlett, who she co-parents with her ex (Instagram)

"He said I didn't do it for him any more. Those were his words. I was absolutely devastated. He said he didn't want the responsibility of a relationship with me."

Admitting she begged him to change his mind, she said Ryan - who played Jason Grimshaw in the ITV soap - refused to 'fix' their six-year romance.

"Ryan can be a very loving and nice guy, but he can also be laddy. He was keen to go out a lot," she added.

Moving on

After her heartbreak, Tina went on to find love with business developer Adam Crofts with whom she welcomed son Beau in 2014.

The pair tied the knot in 2018 in a room packed with Tina's Corrie co-stars, and ex Ryan even on the invite list.

While Ryan once again found love with a co-star as he hooked up with reality star Lucy Mecklenburgh while they filmed Bear Grylls' Celebrity Island in 2017.

Tina married business developer Adam Crofts in 2018 (PA)
While Ryan fell head over heels for TOWIE star Lucy after they met on Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island (LUCY MECKLENBURGH/INSTAGRAM)

Their chemistry captivated viewers as they supported each other through the gruelling weeks spent on a deserted island.

By the time they touched down in the UK after the show, the pair were a fully fledged couple.

The duo are now engaged and expecting their second child together later this year.

Feud rumour

Fans were alerted to things not being quite as harmonious between the former couple when Ryan and his partner Lucy Meck announced they were expecting their first child together on social media.

Lucy broke the news with a video of Ryan and Tina's daughter Scarlett reacting to news she was going to be a big sister.

The clip shows Scarlett bursting into tears as Lucy insists, "these are happy tears."

After the news, Tina took to her own Instagram page to share a cryptic message that read: "Don’t always trust what you see on social media. Even salt looks like sugar.”

Lucy appeared to cause a stir by sharing a video of Tina and Ryan's daughter finding out she was to become a big sister (Instagram)

She later deleted the message and posted again: "Don’t waste your time with explanations. People will hear what they want to hear."

In 2019 Ryan and Tina also appeared to have a disagreement as the actor shared a photo of daughter Scarlett at a beauty salon having nail varnish removed.

"So mummy puts nail varnish on, daddy takes it off," he wrote in the caption along with an angry emoji.

His partner Lucy then waded in to take Tina's side as she replied "So mean!!!!!!", while Tina then responded saying: "@lucymeck1 Don’t worry the three of us can go next time and get matching nails and tattoos."

Co-parenting success

Ryan previously opened up about his evolved relationship with Tina and even said he got on with the new man in her life Adam.

"Adam is cool, he's just a lovely guy," he said. "As a stepfather in Scarlett's life, I've hit the jackpot. She adores him."

While Tina praised her ex and husband for making things work for the sake of Scarlett, with the two families even spending a Christmas together.

The family is expanding again with Lucy expecting her second baby (Ryan Thomas/Instagram)

"It’s taken a lot of years and a lot of biting my tongue. Seriously, though, it’s mainly down to Adam and Ryan," said Tina.

"It helps that everyone has moved on and is in a happy place. Ryan is really happy and we are happy, so there aren’t any issues.

"For the sake of Scarlett, it has been well worth preserving [our relationship] and choosing our battles."

Child star daughter

Tina and Ryan will both be watching the first episode of the revamped Waterloo Road when it airs later this year.

Ryan's brother Adam is reprising his role as Donte Charles, who now has a teenage daughter with on-screen wife Chlo Charles (Katie Griffiths), who will be played by his niece Scarlett.

Speaking on BBC's Morning Live this week, Adam said: "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, I feel like I'm working for Marvel, but what I can tell you is that my little niece Scarlett Thomas is going to be joining the cast of Waterloo Road.

Adam Thomas shared first pic of Waterloo Road with niece Scarlett Thomas (Instagram)

"She's playing my daughter on it. If you're a fan of the show, Donte and Chlo had a kid and she's now grown up. My brother's daughter gets to play my on-screen daughter."

However, Adam has insisted his niece doesn't need any acting advice from him as she is a "force to be reckoned with".

"She doesn't need my advice. I saw her self-tape for the audition and I was blown away, she is a force to be reckoned with," he added.

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