EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy has revealed her nine-year-old daughter Joanie was rushed to hospital after breaking her arm for the third time in a school accident. The 43-year-old star described feeling like she was having a 'nervous breakdown' after Joanie's bones were left 'in pieces' following a fall before her PE lesson.
Third Break in Years
Joanie was taken to A&E just weeks after having metal plates removed from her arm following a previous break last year. Speaking on her podcast Life With Nat, Cassidy said: 'I'd done a little bit of work in the morning at home. Marc went outside, put the paddling pool up, cut all the grass — thinking we're going to have a few days, like a mini holiday, at home. Then the phone rang. She slipped over in the hall, before doing PE. I'm speechless. It's so traumatic.'
Cassidy shares Joanie with fiancé Marc Humphreys and is also mother to 14-year-old Eliza from a previous relationship with Adam Cottrell. She recounted: 'A few years ago she broke her arm, and it was a clean break. She then broke it again, they put all the metal work in. Eight weeks ago, she went under general anaesthetic, had it all out – and has done it again. I felt I was going to have a nervous breakdown, actually. I'm being really honest here. I really fell to pieces. I was not in a good place. Just her little body – and the medication and the trauma of it all.'
Medical Concerns and Hospital Experience
The actress voiced fears that Joanie might have 'some sort of deficiency' leading to the repeated fractures. However, she noted: 'She's had full blood tests, and everything is in range. It's absolutely perfect. The consultant actually said, ''I do think it's just really bad luck.''
Despite the trauma, Cassidy praised the hospital staff: 'The hospital was quite warm for the few days we were in there. The staff, they're not moaning, they're laughing, they're joking. Just wonderful, wonderful people. We were so well looked after again. It's like a little trip, now. It's like being in a hotel!'
Family Background
Cassidy has had a turbulent love life. She dated Adam Cottrell from 2010 and got engaged, but the relationship became volatile. They split in 2011, reunited for their daughter Eliza, and parted for good in 2013. She later began a relationship with cameraman Marc Humphreys, whom she met on the set of EastEnders, and they became engaged in 2015. The couple welcomed Joanie in 2016.
Cassidy told OK! magazine that they 'still fancy the pants off each other' and plan to marry: 'I do think we'll get our close family together at a lovely place in London, go to a restaurant and have a big party afterwards.' She added: 'Ten years would be a brilliant time to do it. Either 10 years together or 10 years engaged.'
