Emmerdale star Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays the role of Belle Dingle, has a far less turbulent love life away from the soap and has been with her boyfriend since 2016
Emmerdale’s Belle Dingle, played by Eden Taylor-Draper, has been at the centre of a domestic abuse storyline for months on the ITV soap. Belle has suffered coercive control and abuse at the hands of her manipulative ex husband, Tom King (James Chase), as part of the harrowing storyline.
Eden’s character Belle has been a part of the village since her first appearance on Christmas Day in 1988, originally portrayed by twins Emily and James Mather. Eden, 26, took over the role in 2005 after James left in 2000 and Emily in 2005 – so could soon be celebrating 20 years in the Yorkshire Dales. Belle has had quite a journey, with storylines including falling down a mineshaft, killing her best friend Gemma Andrews, having an affair with doctor Jermaine Bailey, faking a pregnancy to keep him from leaving after their affair was exposed, and being diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Belle tied the knot with Tom King (played by James Chase) earlier this year, despite previously rejecting his proposal. It also came after numerous doubts and a second over-the-top proposal from Belle with ice skating stars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
They finally wed in February, but after the joyous occasion, a punch-up at the reception hinted at tensions simmering beneath the surface. Fans watching at home couldn’t help but feel concerned about the couple’s future, especially after Tom’s outburst during the wedding, where he criticised Belle for wanting to spend time with her family.
In recent months, Belle has been enduring physical and emotional abuse from her vile ex-husband and a trip away to a rural cottage in Wales saw Tom constantly belittle her, as well as physically harm her. Though now separated and Belle preparing to report Tom to the police, in the most recent episode, she had to fight for her life when Tom chased her with an axe. Belle tried to shoot Tom but the safety catch was on, with Tom ending up with the gun and tormenting his terrified ex-wife. She stabbed him in the back with the axe he had dropped to the floor when he turned his back, admiring himself in a mirror. Viewers now have to wait and see what happens.
Thankfully away from the ITV soap, actress Eden is loved up with her boyfriend, Ed Lewis, who she’s been with since 2016.
The couple, both from North Yorkshire, are believed to have met at Harrogate Grammar School. Eden tends to keep her private life away from the spotlight but occasionally shares some cute snaps of her and Ed over on Instagram.
With a love of travel, Eden has shared photos of their trips to Vienna, Milan, Ljubljana, Podgorica and Dubrovnik. In January they spent a romantic weekend in the Cotswolds and just before Christmas headed to Austria with friends.
Similar to her character in Emmerdale, Eden has a big family away from set, with her mum and dad, Nicola and Richard and four siblings, Sebastian, Pollyanna, Francesca, and Posy. Six years ago, they went through a hard time when her younger sister Francesca, who Eden calls Chess, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
This led Eden to take a break from the show to be with her sister. She told the Mirror at the time: “We’ve got such a strong family. When our mum puts her mind to something she’s always going to do it. She said, ‘You are getting better and that’s it. We’re going to get through it’.”
Francesca had to have treatment every month and Eden was always there for her, making their time in the hospital as nice as possible. She shared: “Chessie had her bed and I had a little bed next to her. Mornings would be a snuggle, cup of tea and re-runs of Come Dine with Me. I tried to keep Chess as cosy as possible. We’d always say love you before bed, and that everything would be okay.”
Now, Eden is helping others by working with Teenage Cancer Trust. She says that going through tough times made her family even closer. Talking about her sister, she said: “We’re really close but it’s definitely made our bond much stronger.”
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
