EastEnders star Shona McGarty ‘splits from fiancé’ a year after engagement
EastEnders star Shona McGarty is said to have split from fiancé David Bracken after a year of engagement.
The actress, who portrayed Whitney Dean in the BBC One soap, met guitarist David two years ago after he got in touch via TikTok, asking if she’d like to duet on a song.
At the time, he had no idea that she was in EastEnders.
One year later, the music star – who is a member of the band Blessed – got down on one knee in London’s Holland Park, with Shona having no idea that he was planning to pop the question.
But it is now claimed that Shona and David have called off their engagement. The decision is said to have been a mutual one and the pair remain on good terms with one another.
‘They are on amicable terms, but have ended their romantic relationship,’ a source told The Sun.
‘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.’
Metro has reached out to Shona’s reps or comment.
Shona made her EastEnders departure nearly two years ago after playing Whitney for 16 years.
After discovering that Zack Hudson (James Farrar) had cheated on her with best friend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), Whitney decided that she would leave the Square with Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) and new baby Dolly.
In emotional scenes, she departed Walford in the back of a bus, receiving EastEnders’ signature Julia’s Theme for the heartfelt goodbye moment.
While there was of course heartbreak involved in the exit, Shona felt that the scenes in question were very true to her character – and that Whitney did get a happy ending of sorts.
‘I think she did get her happy ending,’ Shona told RSVP Live. ‘It makes sense the way she left on the bus, the way she came in. It was very fitting and quite nice, actually.’
But have we really seen the last of Whitney? Shona addressed the chances of a Walford comeback earlier this year.
‘‘I would absolutely go back to EastEnders – it’s 16 years of creating a family, I grew up on that show,’ she told The Sun.