Inside Amy Nuttall and Andrew Buchan's roller coaster marriage: As star takes ... trends now

Amy Nuttall is no stranger to weathering a relationship roller coaster on screen.  

As Downton Abbey housemaid Ethel Parks she had an affair with gentry, gave birth to an illegitimate child and later turned to prostitution after being spurned from society. 

In Emmerdale, her character Chloe Atkinson indulged in affairs, faked a pregnancy, and was forced to leave the village in disgrace after her tangled web of deceit unravelled. 

Yet, shockingly, it's off-screen that Amy has battled with some of her most difficult personal setbacks, having dealt with a cheating husband and the loss of her beloved mother in the space of a few months. 

On Monday, it emerged the 41-year-old actress had taken back her love rat husband Andrew Buchan for a third time, seven months after dumping him for failing to stick to her 'marriage rules'.

It's the latest twist in her convoluted love story with Andrew, 45, who turned her world upside down in 2022 when it emerged he had cheated on her with his co-star Leila Farzad, who he had met on the set of his BBC series, Better. 

Of course, Amy could not have predicted this turn of events when she first started dating Broadchurch star Andrew in 2007. 

They did not rush into marriage, tying the knot in 2012, with Amy no doubt wary after having her heart broken by her Emmerdale co-star and former boyfriend Ben Freeman.

In another example of fiction blending with reality, the pair had been on-off lovers in the ITV soap before striking up an off-screen romance that lasted for four years. 

Amy described him as the 'first real love of my life', but much like the tumultuous storylines they played out on TV, their romance ended in tragedy when Ben was said to have cheated on her, causing a shock split in 2005. 

Refusing to give up on the idea of love, Amy moved on with Andrew two years later, and in an interview before their wedding she admitted: 'I’ve known for ages he’s The One.'

She confessed to having an 'inkling' he was going to propose during their holiday - which turned out to be correct - and they went on to welcome a daughter and a son, now nine and five respectively. 

It was this same inkling that led to the demise of their union, however, as in 2022 her intuition alerted her to Andrew's betrayal. 

She grew concerned that he had been unfaithful after seeing pictures of him with Leila on social media, in which the pair appeared a little too close for comfort.

Amy's fears were confirmed when she discovered he had been staying in a hotel close to their home - while claiming to be away working on location - and he had purchased racy lingerie in a different size to hers.

A source told The Sun: 'As time moved on there were some tell-tale signs that he had become close to Leila — just something in his mannerisms and in their social media posts together.

'But the final straw was the lingerie — that's what clinched it. Amy just knew instinctively that it wasn't meant for her.'

Amy confronted her husband about his behaviour, with a friend of hers telling MailOnline it 'must have been the most difficult thing Amy has ever had to do.' 

Seemingly unwilling to work on his 11-year marriage at that stage, Andrew left the family home shortly before Christmas, moving in with Leila. 

The actress was so 'crushed' by the end of her marriage that she was crying almost every day.

Speaking to MailOnline shortly afterwards, she fought back tears and confessed: 'I can't talk about it [the split]. I'm sorry, I can't say anything.'

A source said at the time: 'It was a huge shock. Amy is heartbroken.'

Just weeks later, however, Andrew's mistress Leila allegedly returned to her husband James Maizels, who she married in 2013. 

In turn, it was claimed Amy demanded a divorce from Andrew in March, after being 'publicly humiliated' by his infidelity. 

Yet she seemingly had a change of heart by June, when Andrew was seen leaving their family home wearing his gold wedding ring, allegedly telling a friend at the time: 'We're healing.'

Amy was spotted around the same time at the property, without her ring, but insiders suggested they were giving things another go.

A source close to the couple told the The Sun: 'Amy was, understandably, devastated to learn of the infidelity and wanted a clean break and a fresh start.

'But Andrew has come back to her and promised to change.

'They have been working through their problems and are trying to put the love triangle behind them for the sake of their family.'

The following month it emerged she had taken her husband back on the condition he stick to a set of 'marriage rules.' 

Amy apparently demanded weekly date nights as they followed the 777 approach, full access to each other's phones and absolutely no out of work contact with any co-stars.

It was reported that Andrew would also need to keep in contact via FaceTime when he's working away.

'No one thought they could come back from this but Amy has decided to give it one more go,' a source told The Sun.

'[Amy] doesn't want to throw away over a decade together but at the same time she is far from a pushover.

'They will adopt the 777 approach which means every seven days you go on a date, every seven weeks you go away for the night and every seven months you go away on holiday just the two of you.'

The 777 approach made up three of the rules, and the final one is that their work should be on an equal footing, it was reported.

At the same time she took Andrew back, Amy was dealt a devastating blow as her beloved mother Elaine - who had been her rock during her marital split - was diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

The tragic news of course sent Amy into a spiral, who was left in 'total shock' by the diagnosis. 

As Amy struggled to cope with the thought of losing her mother, she split from her husband again, after he was seemingly unable to stick to her marital rules. 

The 'gutted' actress called time on their marriage last summer and threw him out of the family home they shared with their two children.

A source told The Sun: 'It took a lot for Amy to give the marriage another chance but she thought it was worth one final roll of the dice.

'There is no suggestion he has cheated again, but as far as she is concerned this is it. She is obviously gutted but also accepts that their time together has come to an end.'

Amy was dealt another blow just weeks later, when her mother died in September. 

She shared the news with her Instagram followers, writing: 'My heart is beating loudly whilst I write this. Yesterday I said goodbye to my beautiful dear mummy. 

'She was diagnosed in July with a glioblastoma (grade 4). To say it was the biggest shock would be an understatement. 

'Together with my wonderful family, we helped care for her to the end where she died in my arms as I lay beside her on 30/10/23 at 5.05pm.

'She humbled us all with how she handled this cruel diagnosis… never complaining, always smiling and bringing her daft humour to the fore every day. Mum, you were my rock. Always. My best friend. 

'I’m not sure how I’m going to do life without you but I know you’ll always be with me to carry me through as you always did. Thank you mummy… you gave me the best days I ever had ❤️xxx #glioblastoma #braintumour #rosemere.' 

She honoured her late mother by releasing the charity single, Thank You Mother, in March, teaming up with The Brain Tumour Charity to raise vital awareness and funds for the charity.

Shortly afterwards came the latest twist in her romantic tale with Andrew, with Amy confirming in an interview with The Sunday Times last week that they had reconciled. 

Asked how much she'd earned in the last year, Amy shared: 'Generally speaking, in the last financial year — what can I tell you? — below a hundred grand. 

'But I'm married so it all goes into one pot. So it's not as scary because I can lean on that.'

She also confirmed the couple still live in their family home together, explaining: 'I'm the joint owner of our comfortable family home in Buckinghamshire. We owned a smaller house before.'

One of the jobs that will have contributed to her earnings last year was her stint in ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, a dramatisation of the Horizon IT scandal.

The actress played Lisa Castleton, with Will Mellor as her husband Lee in the series, which followed the story of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft by the Post Office due to a faulty IT system.

Amy will no doubt have taken plenty away from the role, which saw the Castletons go from being declared bankrupt when they were falsely accused of theft by the Post Office, to receiving a settlement pay-out when a judge ruled in their favour in a legal battle against their employers. 

Perhaps there's something to be said in the parallels between the Castletons

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