EASTENDERS legend Lucy Benjamin has broken her silence one year after her marriage split.
Actress Lucy, who played Lisa Fowler on the BBC soap, has revealed how she managed the devastation of her divorce from Richard Taggart away from the spotlight.
News of their 17 year marriage ending first emerged last summer.
But the screen favourite has now revealed it was over long before it became public.
Richard and Lucy had actually split up months before in January 2023.
The TV star told OK!: “It was weird the way it just came out as it was quite a long time after we’d actually separated.
“But people didn’t really pressure us and there was no big shebang about it. We were kind of left alone, which was lovely.”
Lucy, who played Phil Mitchel’s wife Lisa on EastEnders for five years, also shared that her job provided her with comfort during that difficult time.
She described work as “a lifeline when times are tough.”
Richard and Lucy have two daughters together, Bessie, 17, and 13-year-old Rosie.
A source previously said: “Lucy and Richard tried to make it work but ultimately decided it was best they split up.
“It’s been rough for them both in recent months but hopefully they can now start looking forward to the future.
“Their children will always be their number one priority.”
The pair met during a flight to Dubai with Richard making the first move having recognised Lucy from TV.
She once said: “He was sat next to me and while I was reading a book, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘This must be strange for you because I know a lot about you and you don’t know anything about me, but my name’s Richard and I’m going to Dubai’.
“Fortunately, I found it very funny and we didn’t stop chatting. We were engaged within six weeks — and married within nine months.”
Lucy admitted they rushed into tying the knot because “I was a bit pushy but you’ve got to get on with it,” revealing she was seven weeks pregnant at the nuptials.
She previously dated EastEnders co-star Steve McFadden, who played her on-screen love interest Phil Mitchell, between 1999 and 2003.
In 2002, she appeared alongside EastEnders co-star Jessie Wallace in a calendar for men’s magazine FHM.
Lucy has also had roles in BBC1 dramas Casualty, Holby City and New Tricks, as well as various panto jobs.
