Emmerdale fans are predicting a devastating split for married couple Sarah and Jacob Sugden once they discover the truth about their daughter Leyla's parentage. The couple, played by Katie Hill and Joe-Warren Plant, recently welcomed baby Leyla via surrogacy, unaware that she is actually the biological daughter of Sarah's grandmother, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).
Couple's rocky road to marriage
Sarah and Jacob began dating over Christmas 2024, but their relationship faced heartbreak when Jacob broke up with Sarah shortly after the limo crash last year. The accident killed Jacob's mum, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi), as well as Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough). While Jacob grieved, Sarah explored a connection with newcomer Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah).
The couple later reunited, with Jacob proposing unexpectedly, and they planned a secret Christmas Eve registry office wedding last year. However, their plans were derailed when they arrived to find Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) had just married Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) instead. They tied the knot shortly after, months before welcoming their daughter Leyla.
Charity's secret threatens to tear them apart
Charity has kept the secret that Leyla is her daughter from a one-night stand with Ross Barton (Michael Parr), who became Sarah's surrogate. After months of blackmail by Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker), Charity was sexually assaulted by the physician in devastating scenes.
Now, fans speculate the truth will come out, leading to a split. On an Emmerdale Facebook fan page, one person asked: "Prediction time... which current relationship won't make it to Christmas?" Another replied: "Sarah and Jacob," with a third adding: "I don't think they'll survive finding out Leyla isn't their child." A fourth said: "I reckon the baby Leyla storyline will break them!"
Drama intensifies next week
Next week, Charity decides she's done living in fear and invites Dr Todd to Jacobs Fold to confront her. As emotions boil over, Charity demands Todd admit the truth about what happened between them. But the doctor hits back with a chilling threat to expose the secret about Leyla's parentage to Sarah.
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
