EastEnders star Shona McGarty, who is best known for playing Whitney Dean on the BBC soap opera, has reportedly split from her fiancé after two years together
Shona McGarty has reportedly split from her fiancé after a year-long engagement. The actress, 34, who is best known for playing Whitney Dean on the BBC soap EastEnders, got engaged to musician David Bracken in the summer of 2024 but is said to have now called the whole thing off.
A source said: “They are on amicable terms, but have ended their romantic relationship. There are no hard feelings, they realised they wanted different things and are better off as friends. Shona is now focusing on her music and career.” The Mirror has contacted representatives for comment.
According to The Sun, the soap star was spotted out and about without her engagement ring on in recent days. The pair met on TikTok just over two years ago and David, who is best known as a member of Blessed, popped the question during a romantic picnic in that took place in Kensington, West London. Although, at the time, things almost went awry when the police turned up.
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At the time, David said: “I went over to the police, who said, ‘Sorry we are just closing up the park’. I said, ‘Would you mind giving me five minutes as I am about to propose to my partner?’ He looked at his watch and said, ‘Of course, and best of luck!'” “So, I told Shona to go stand at the waterfall in the park. I then put on our favourite song and had a dance with her before getting down on one knee.”
Shona then noted that she she was none the wiser how David’s proposal was almost scuppered at the last minute. She said: “David went over to speak to them and I had no idea what he said because I was just eating cheese and crackers.
In an exclusive joint interview with OK! announcing their engagement, Shona and David said that the location of the proposal made it even more special.
David had picked a tranquil corner of the park called Kyoto Garden – somewhere that means a lot to Shona. She explained: “I love Japanese culture and the spirituality of it. He brought a picnic which was really sweet. It was lovely, I was in my element but I didn’t think he was going to propose at all.”
Despite being on EastEnders for over 16 years playing Albert Square legend Whitney Dean, Shona admitted that David actually had “no clue” about her soap fame.
She said: “It was actually their love of music that brought the two together last year and the social media platform TikTok. After scrolling one night on his phone, David discovered a video of Shona performing a song cover and plucked up the courage to message her – without any idea that she was on primetime TV screens most nights.
David asked if Shona was interested in doing a duet with him, as he explained: “I saw she had a blue tick on TikTok, but I just assumed that she must be a really good singer or something.” Shona remarked: “It was funny because David didn’t have a clue what I did for a job. I remember him asking me, ‘So what do you do? Do you gig or sing?’ I said, ‘Well not really, I’m not allowed at the moment.’ He was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He didn’t even know I was in EastEnders – he had never watched it!
“He doesn’t care what I do for a job and it can be hard in this industry to find someone who actually likes you for you.” The pair then spoke on the phone for 90 minutes before talking every day. Two months later, the 35-year-old soon flew out to the UK to be with her. But David was thrown in the deep end as, in the space of three days, he’d met Shona’s mum, dad, sister, nephew and the dogs.
Since leaving EastEnders, Shona has launched a new career in theatre, having followed in the footsteps of Lily Allen and Cheryl by starring in 2:22 A Ghost Story. News of her split comes after I’m A Celebrity bosses were said to be keen on recruiting the soap legend for the jungle. A source told The Sun: “Shona is Walford royalty and hugely popular with TV viewers, she’s got bags of charisma and producers think she’ll be a great campmate.
“Plus fans haven’t seen much of her away from Enders, so I’m A Celeb will be an opportunity for her to show a completely different side to her personality. Show bosses are already talking to some brilliant names for the new series.”
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