Coronation Street star Rhea Bailey marries famous partner – twice!

Former Coronation Street star Rhea Bailey has revealed there was an unexpected twist ahead of her recent wedding to The Overtones singer Darren Everest; the couple actually got married twice.

While soap weddings are famous for dramatic surprises, secret affairs and last-minute chaos, Rhea’s real-life wedding story had a much happier ending. The actress, best known to Corrie fans for playing Caz Hammond between 2015 and 2016, has shared how she and Darren secretly tied the knot just days before their planned wedding celebration.

The couple decided to keep their first ceremony completely under wraps, telling nobody apart from two close family members.

Taking to social media to reflect on the special moment, Rhea revealed that she and Darren slipped away to their local registry office two days before their big wedding day and quietly became husband and wife.

The intimate ceremony took place at Bradford City Hall, with only Rhea’s sister and brother-in-law present to act as witnesses.

Sharing a collection of photographs from the day, Rhea described the secret ceremony as ‘the warm up act’ before their larger celebration and admitted it turned out to be one of the most meaningful experiences of her life.

‘Two days before our big white wedding. @darren_everest and I snuck off, without telling our kids, or anyone else for that matter. And got secretly married at our local registry office! With only my sister and her husband as our witnesses!’

Far from feeling like a simple formality, Rhea explained that the private nature of the ceremony allowed them to focus entirely on each other without any distractions.

‘It was more special than I ever imagined it could be. It felt so intimate, as we were so focused on each other and no-one else. We got the giggles, we both shed a tear and we were brimming with emotions.’

After officially becoming husband and wife, the newlyweds enjoyed some rare alone time together, something that doesn’t happen very often in their busy family life.

Rather than rushing back to wedding preparations, they headed out for a meal where they were able to reflect on the exciting days ahead.

‘After the ceremony, we went to a beautiful restaurant, just the two of us, and talked about our plans over the next few days. And how incredibly lucky we are to feel so much love for each other after so many years together.’

The actress also joked that one of the highlights of the day was simply being able to hold an uninterrupted conversation.

‘We also laughed about the fact that we could actually have a conversation without being interrupted every 7 seconds by our kids! It felt all the more special because we don’t get any date nights together at the moment!’

While many couples choose to complete the legal side of their wedding during their main ceremony, Rhea explained that there were several reasons they opted to do things differently.

Although their wedding venue was fully licensed to conduct marriages, the couple wanted a more personal experience when it came to officially saying ‘I do’.

‘Our venue WAS fully licensed but we did this for multiple reasons! I didn’t want an ‘Officiant’ that we didn’t know conducting our wedding and tapping his watch every three seconds and not being patient with our two year old! (If you know you know!).’

Instead, the pair were able to create a celebration that felt more meaningful to them and their family.

Rhea also revealed that the person who led the ceremony during their larger wedding celebration was someone very close to her heart. Having known the celebrant for 27 years, she felt it added an extra layer of emotion and significance to the occasion.

The actress’ candid post quickly attracted plenty of warm wishes from friends, fans and fellow performers, many of whom praised the couple’s decision to enjoy a private moment together before the whirlwind of their main wedding day.

And while many brides dream of one perfect wedding day, Rhea ended up with two unforgettable celebrations instead, first an intimate ceremony shared with just four people, followed by the big white wedding surrounded by loved ones.

Judging by her heartfelt reflections, the unexpected double wedding turned out to be the perfect way to start married life.