Rita Simons tied the knot for a second time at a glitzy showbiz wedding on Tuesday.
The actress – who played wayward Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders for a decade – has married West End star, Ben Harlow, who she has been dating since 2020.
The couple celebrated their vows at the idyllic Hidden River Barn in Cumbria, and singer, Duncan James from Blue not only serenaded the bride, but gave her away also.
Taking to Instagram Rita, 47, thanked her loved ones and wedding planners as she gushed, ‘Well this happened yesterday! I married my best friend @benjyharlow’
‘Just a little teaser before I have the good stuff from @the.event.editor content creator I can’t even put into words how special our day was…’
‘Mostly because we have the most incredible bunch of humans who love us unconditionally and who were prepared to travel to @hiddenriverbarn from all over the world to share our day.’
Rita Simons has tied the knot for a second time. The actress – who played Roxy in EastEnders – married West End star, Ben Harlow, on Tuesday after five years together
‘We love you all. You know who you are …sorry there’s gonna be a ton of pics to follow! The stars of the day were (apart from my babies @jaimee_silv@maiya.sammy )@therocketscollective who rocked SO hard for the entire day and night!’
‘Thank you my darling@mrduncanjames for giving me away, I love you forever.’
In an interview with Best magazine earlier this year, the mum-of-two, 48, revealed that her twin 18-year-old daughters would act as bridesmaids, and her former EastEnders colleagues, Samantha Womack and Larry Lamb would be invited to her big day.
She also revealed to the publication how she and her second husband met when they both appeared in the musical, Legally Blonde, in 2017, and started out as friends before he finally asked her out.
While previously discussing her romance, Rita said Ben is ‘the loveliest man on the planet’ and that it’s only because she’s ‘so happy’ now she can see what a ‘mess’ she was.
Before her relationship with Ben, Rita was married to Theo Silveston for 14 years before separating in 2018. They are parents to their twin daughters Jaimee and Maiya.
The actress had reportedly been ‘growing apart’ from the hairdresser and they decided to end their relationship after a period of separation.
The couple celebrated their vows at the idyllic Hidden River Barn in Cumbria, and singer, Duncan James from Blue not only serenaded the bride, but gave her away also (pictured earlier this year)
Rita, who plays Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap, has been in a relationship with the former actor since 2020 after the pair met while performing in Legally Blonde the Musical in 2017
However, after the couple split in 2018, Rita struggled with depression, insomnia and more.
In the end, the stress, pressure and heartbreak caused her to suffer a nervous breakdown.
Speaking to OK! Magazine in 2021, Rita explained: ‘I was physically ill every other week and I lost loads of weight.’
‘Every night I would go on stage in the West End in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie having just had some fraught conversation with Theo, and later on having just received legal letters.’
And I would just cry, go on stage, come off, cry and respond. I also had terrible insomnia for about a year.’
She added: ‘When I’m unhappy, my sleep is the first thing to go and then the knock-on is the depression and anxiety.’
Before her relationship with Ben, Rita was married to Theo Silveston for 14 years before separating in 2018 (both pictured in 2017)
In 2019, while starring in the play The House On Cold Hill, the star had a nervous breakdown. ‘My mind went to some major dark places,’ admitted Rita.
Previously speaking to The Sun, she said: ‘There were some stairs on the set that I came on stage on, quite high at the top.’
‘And I thought I could just chuck myself down. I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to hurt myself enough to go to hospital and have someone look after me. That was scary.’
