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Former Emmerdale and Downton Abbey actress Amy Nuttall has given a rare insight into her home life in a new interview with 1883 magazine.
The star, 44, talked about being the 'glue that holds her family together' and said she's 'coped with things she never imagined she could cope with' in the interview.
Amy's husband, actor Andrew Buchan had an affair with his Better co-star Leila Farzad in late 2022, which led to a temporary separation from Amy, but are since believed to have reconciled.
The couple have a daughter and a son together, but they prefer to keep their ages and names private.
In the interview Amy discussed her latest role in Forever Home, a Channel 5 adaptation of Graham Norton’s bestselling novel.
And she admitted she has struggled in recent years, after losing her beloved mother Elaine, in 2023, aged 68, following a four-month battle with a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumour.
Amy Nuttall has given a rare insight into her home life following her husband Andrew Buchan's affair and said she's the 'glue that has held her family together'
Andrew had an affair with his Better co-star Leila Farzad in late 2022, which led to a temporary separation from Amy, but are since believed to have reconciled, (pictured together in 2014)
Amy was asked: 'What’s something you’ve learned about yourself over the last few years that genuinely surprised you?'
She replied: 'The last few years have been difficult, particularly because I lost my best friend, my dear mum, to a glioblastoma brain tumour. She was always my crutch when the chips were down, and suddenly I didn’t have that person anymore.
'I think what has surprised me is discovering that I can cope with things that I never imagined I would have to cope with. I hope my mum would be proud of how I’ve handled losing her and how I’m carrying on. She was such a huge source of strength for me, and perhaps I’ve discovered that some of that strength was in me all along.'
Her character in Forever Home, Carol, is the emotional glue that holds the family together.
And she's asked what she recognised in a woman who continually makes herself smaller to make everyone else’s life easier.
Amy said: 'I think, perhaps this is a slightly stereotypical thing to say, but as a mum I do think there can be something very instinctive about wanting to be the glue that holds a family together. It certainly was the case in my family, and I feel I’ve taken on that role too'.
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.
Amy and Andrew married in 2012 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.
But, it was this same inkling that threatened the demise of their union, however, as in 2022 her intuition alerted her to Andrew's betrayal.
She is said to have grown 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.
Andrew pictured with his co-star Leila in 2023, who he met on the set of his BBC series, Better
She confronted her husband about his behaviour, with a friend of hers telling the Daily Mail it 'must have been the most difficult thing Amy has ever had to do.'
Speaking to the Daily Mail 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, 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.
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