It’s been one drama after another for Jacqueline Jossa, who was last week forced to shoot down claims she’d moved out of her £1 million Essex home amid reports her husband Dan Osborne was messaging other women – something her representative denied.
Opening up about her decision to take some time away from the marital home, the actress revealed she was “struggling” after the UK was put into lockdown amid the pandemic.
The former EastEnders actress, 27 – who is dividing her time between the home she shares with Dan and a property her parents own in Kent – reassured fans in a lengthy Instagram post that her move was in no way a reflection on the state of her three-year-marriage to former TOWIE star Dan, with the couple seemingly keen to put on a united front when they were pictured the following day with their two young daughters, Ella, five, and Mia, 22 months.
Taking to social media to give her own account, Jacqueline explained, “I’ve been staying at another house – a house my parents will eventually be moving into. I had really been struggling (haven’t we all!?) lately and, as I said the other day, I’ve just needed some time and breathing space.”
It followed an earlier post where she shot down reports of a split, saying, “I need some time. There is no split. No divorce. We are working together not against each other.”
Claims later surfaced that Dan had “begged” her to come home and they’d been “fighting non-stop”, while Jacqueline told fans on Instagram Stories, “I was going to let you guys know that I am back at home. But I am going to be going to and from just because I’m helping my mum and I’ve got some stuff going on.”
Check out: EastEnders spoilers - Whitney Dean and Gray Atkins KISS
EastEnders spoilers: Whitney Dean and Gray Atkins kiss - slide
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The week begins with Gray finding a disorientated Whitney on the street. She's being haunted by Leo's death so Gray invites her to his place to go over the case.
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As they begin to open up, Gray mentions that her previous relationships could be used against her in court. He then asks Mick Carter and Linda Carter about Whitney's marriage to Lee Carter. Linda reveals that Lee hit Whitney…
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Meanwhile Chantelle borrows Gray's car to pick up computers from Kheerat Panesar but her husband is clearly not impressed. Chantelle is unaware that he's installed a tracking device.
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Gray is furious when he discovers she's visited various locations… He's further infuriated when he finds out that last week his car was in Stratford.
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Unaware that it's because Ben took Gray's car on a dodgy deal, Gray jumps to conclusions and assumes Chantelle is having an affair.
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He later berates his wife for lying to him… The following day Gray advises Whitney to use her flashbacks to help her remember exactly what happened.
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Whitney manages to give a detailed account but starts breaking down. As Gray comforts her Whitney tries to kiss him…
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Ian Beale arranges a memorial for Dennis leaving Sharon touched. He says a speech but is overcome with emotion.
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Phil arrives at the last minute and his short speech leaves everyone teary… Later, there's tension between Phil and Sharon. Will they manage to find a way through everything that's happened?
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Mick and Linda have their eyes on a house to rent but they're worried Phil is paying for The Vic with dodgy money…
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Elsewhere Peter asks Dotty to fix his car but she refuses, not wanting anything to do with his family. She later offers to do the job but insists it's double or nothing.
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After fixing his car they end up kissing but she quickly pulls away and rushes off… The next day Peter runs a fitness class and Dotty joins in to flirt with him but she struggles to keep up.She then tells him that maybe he wasn't such a bad kisser after all… When Ian stumbles across them snogging he's left appalled.
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Tiffany is surprised when she finds Keegan at the café but he's not interested in speaking to her so she leaves, devastated.
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Later on the couple meet up to talk, but is Tiffany ready for what her husband has to say?
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Rainie tells Habiba Ahmed that she's not interested in Max's money because she has Stuart… However Max isn't convinced and opens up to Ian about signing over half of the restaurant.
It’s not the first time the couple have been dogged by split rumours. There were reports in 2018 that Jacqueline and Dan had briefly separated, with her “kicking him out” after he was accused of cheating with Love Island’s Gabby Allen – something both Dan and Gabby denied.
However, insiders say that, far from being the victim in this latest marriage drama, the star – who last year said she was keen to show people that she’s “actually really strong” – is the one dictating the rules in her relationship.
A source says, “Jac is no wallflower – she’s not afraid to say or do whatever she wants. She knows herself very well, and when things at home get a bit heated, she knows when to leave to give herself a breather. She’s had a lot of stresses in lockdown – working on promoting her clothing range, homeschooling, and being apart from her friends and family have all taken their toll.
“She didn’t want to take out her frustrations on Dan, as she wants home to be as harmonious as possible at this time, so she thought the best thing for everyone was to move out for a short time to get her head straight – like a mini holiday, where she’ll come back revived and ready to take on the next challenge.”
The couple have weathered more than their fair share of scandal, getting together when Dan’s ex-girlfriend Megan Tomlin was pregnant with his son Teddy, now six.
Last year, it was claimed that Dan snogged Love Island’s Alexandra Cane on a night out – which was also denied. But the couple stood their biggest test last year, when Dan was forced to refute claims he’d enjoyed a threesome with his Celebrity Big Brother co-stars Chloe Ayling and Natalie Nunn, in 2018.
Following intense speculation, Dan later said, “I have seriously learned from these [mistakes] massively, so I want to publicly apologise to my beautiful wife and my family for the mistakes I’ve made.”
When they met at an awards show in 2013, Jacqueline was an up and coming soap star who stayed relatively off-radar, while Dan was the latest reality hunk to hit the big time on TOWIE.
But after her reinvention last year following her victory on I’m A Celeb! and carving out a career post EastEnders, pals say Jacqueline has a new-found confidence. After leaving the jungle, she went on to secure a lucrative six-figure deal for her In The Style fashion collection, and has also launched a music, dance and drama academy for children.
Meanwhile, Dan’s debt-ridden business, Storms Entertainment, reportedly has just £978 left on the books. And as Closer reported last week, he is now focused on launching his personal training business as well as developing potential joint projects with Jacqueline, including a reality show.
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Jacqueline Jossa just launched a nightwear range and it's dreamy
The source adds, “Jac won’t ever be a doormat. She is the one calling the shots in her marriage and wearing the trousers. Dan has his say, but he supports Jac.
“She loves Dan and the kids more than anything – but she’s also willing to make the occasional sacrifice for the sake of keeping their lives on an even keel, even if that means having to ditch everything that’s familiar to her and remove herself from the home to take a breather. She doesn’t think it does him any harm to miss her and to appreciate what he has.”
Read even more celeb stories in this week's Closer magazine - out now.