Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring has wed partner Tom Thornton-Brookes in a secret ceremony in the Maldives.
The star, who plays Cindy Cunningham on the Channel 4 soap, became engaged to Tom in December 2021 after a year of dating, and revealed to OK! Magazine that they decided to tie the knot while they were enjoying a holiday.
The secret ceremony, which took place on Monday (July 15), had nobody else in attendance, with the "secret spot" at the resort offering perfect views for a picturesque ceremony.
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"We woke up, went for breakfast, spent some time at the pool, then started getting ready for the ceremony," recalled Waring. "We were meant to get married at 5pm, but I had a gut feeling the weather was going to take a turn in the afternoon.
"So we asked the resort if we could move it to 2pm and they pulled it out of the bag - it was perfect sunshine. Then a storm started later on!" she continued, with Thornton-Brookes adding: "The way everything has transpired, it feels like it's meant to be. Everything is perfect."
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Waring, who will depart from Hollyoaks later this year, continued by explaining her choices regarding her wedding dress for the big day, sharing: "When choosing my dress, I wanted the classic wedding dress, but also something not too simple.
"I knew as soon as I saw this dress that it was The One. And then I had it fitted to my body by my friend Carrie from Rene K Couture," she added, with Thornton-Brookes detailing his reaction.
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"I was absolutely stunned when Steph appeared," he said. "It was really, genuinely, breathtaking. I just thought, 'Oh, wow!' She looked stunning."
"It was traditional in an English way, but we had Island traditions too. We also exchanged our own personal vows, which were so beautiful," added Waring, who revealed that they walked down the aisle to Disney's 'Love is a Compass'.
The couple also spoke about how they made their decision to tie the knot, with Waring revealing that they chose their date four weeks ahead of the big day.
"I knew I wanted something small and had always liked the idea of getting married abroad. When I found out I was leaving Hollyoaks I was desperate to book a holiday after I finished filming," she said.
"When we booked this holiday to the Maldives, Tom said, 'Do you want to get married?' and I just replied, 'Yeah'."
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
