Coronation Street star Jodie Prenger experienced a heartbreaking loss just days after getting engaged to her partner, businessman Simon Booth. The actress, known for playing Glenda Shuttleworth on the ITV soap, lost her father Marty to kidney cancer in March 2012, shortly after the couple announced their engagement.
A Difficult Time After Engagement
Jodie, who shot to fame after winning BBC's I'd Do Anything in 2008, began dating Simon in 2010 after years of friendship. At the time, she shared her joy at meeting him after a string of failed relationships, telling Belfast Telegraph: "In real life I've been like a magnet to prats and Peter Pans who've caused me problems!"
She added: "It's funny really because I'm a real Mills and Boon romantic girl who believes in love, but even I was starting to give up. I said to my mum, 'do you think it's my fault, do I make these men go loopy?'"
Reflecting on Grief
Speaking about her romance with Simon, Jodie said: "I've known him as a friend for a long while and we started dating about six months ago. He's wonderful, sensitive and it just hits you like a ton of bricks when you meet someone who ticks all the right boxes."
Reflecting on her father's passing, Jodie told MailOnline in 2017: "Losing my dad knocked me. I don't think I have ever felt grief like it. It came in waves and I went through every range of emotions possible, and months later, birthdays had passed, big events, Christmas, and I still hadn't come to terms with it. I loved my dad and he loved me. It's the love I get from my family that has underpinned everything in my life."
Wedding Plans on Hold
Confessing to HELLO! around the time of her father's passing, Jodie said she had "never experienced the extremes of emotion that I have in the past weeks". She went on to say: "I'm just so glad Dad knew I was going to be taken care of. Dad loved Simon like a son and always said I'd be safe with him. Simon's a good man with a good soul, just like my dad."
A few years on, Jodie admitted she had put her wedding plans on hold due to her father Marty not being there to walk her down the aisle. Speaking on Loose Women in 2016, she revealed: "I'm engaged. I've been engaged for four years now. I think the thing is with me is that it's hard to plan it and that's because a lot of people who I want to be there, like my dad, won't be there. My dad won't be able to give me away because he won't be there. I don't like to face reality really. I've got my best mate but I don't want to face that big day."
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
