Arnold & Elsie Tanner
Grounds of Divorce: Adultery on Elsie's part.
After an absence of fifteen years, Arnold Tanner turned up on Elsie's doorstep demanding for a divorce so that he could marry his girlfriend Norah Dawson. At first Elsie refused, but Arnold forced her by hand by threatening divorce, citing her wartime romances
Len & Nellie
Fairclough
Grounds of Divorce: Adultery on Nellie's part.
Nellie Fairclough (whose character never appeared in Coronation Street) left Len in 1962, and had ran off with another man taking son Stanley with them. Nellie had become increasingly frustrated with Len, asshe felt that she had been treated like a drudge by him, as Len always meddledin Elsie's business, especially were her men friends were involved. This led to Nellie's affair with insurance man Harry Bailey, and she and son Stanley leftWeatherfield for Nottingham with Harry.
In 1963, with Nellie gone, Len hoped for arelationship with Elsie Tanner, however Elsie refused to take their relationship any further other than friendship.
Jerry & Myra Booth
Grounds of
Divorce: Marriage broke up due to debt, as well as Myra giving birth to a
stillborn daughter.
Jerry and Myra Booth split up in 1965, after
their increasingly amount of debt, as well as poor Myra giving birth to a
still-borndaughter. Jerry and Myra had left Coronation in 1964 to live with
Myra's dad, after Jerry and Myra had problems with debt; however the following
year Jerry returned to Coronation Street alone without Myra. In 1966, Jerry had
asked estranged wife Myra for a divorce so that he could marry hisnew love
Sheila Birtles, but he and Sheila's relationship didn't work out, as Sheila
dumped him for her former lover Neil Crossley, and left Weatherfield to marry
him, leaving Jerry heartbroken.
In 1968 Jerry and Myra's divorce was finally about to be declared absolute; however just days before the decree absolute, Myra returned to Weatherfield and hoped for a reconciliation with Jerry. However Jerry wasn't interested, especially when Myra tried to seduce him.
Dave & Lillian
Smith
Grounds for Divorce: Adultery on Dave's part.
Dave and Lillian had been estranged for years, until Lillian returned to Weatherfield in 1969, announcing that she wanted a divorcef rom Dave and citing Elsie Tanner as co-respondent. Dave panicked when he discovered he might lose a third of his income in a divorce case and decided to fight it, dragging Elsie's name through the courts.Lillian paid Hilda Ogden to spy on the couple but eventually settled for a larger allowance from Dave. She introduced Dave to her crooked boyfriend, Leo Slater, and Elsie joined them all for a pleasant, civilized evening together.
Les & Maggie Clegg
Grounds for
Divorce: Cruelty due to Les's alcoholism
Les and Maggie Clegg had moved to Weatherfield with son Gordon, for a fresh start. They had lived in Birmingham for years, but had returned to Maggie's native Weatherfield to start a fresh, after years of suffering with Les's alcoholism.They bought the corner shop in 1968, and over thef irst few months their painful story was told. Les struggled to keep sober,while wife Maggie and son Gordon lived in fear of the day he would succumb.When he did it led to a high drama in the shop as Les hit Maggie around the head whereupon Gordon knocked his father unconscious in order to save her. Les was moved to a hospital to dry out and he never returned to the family home In 1970 Maggie Clegg began to take a shine to Len Fairclough and made certain he knew she was available after she had started divorce proceedings against her estranged husband Les.
Dickie & Audrey
Flemming
Grounds for Divorce: Adultery on Audrey's
part.
Audrey fell madly in love with Ray Langton; he had just recently regained the use of his legs (after being involved in a coachcrash in 1969) and had intentions of marrying Elsie Tanner's niece Sandra Butler. Audrey was pleased to see Ray up and about and kissed him, telling him that she'd always loved him. Maggie Clegg was embarrassed to see them kiss and urged Audrey not to be unfaithful to Dickie, but Audrey refused to listen toher. She decided that Dickie was boring and that Ray was everything that she had wanted. Ray was flattered by the attention and admitted to Audrey that he loved her too. His ex-girlfriend Lucille Hewitt found out about the affair and immediantly told Dickie about the news. Dickie refused to let Audrey make a fool of him and fled the street. Though just before his departure he told Ray's fiancée Sandra what had been going on behind their backs.Sandra was devastated, and Sandra's brother took Ray by surprise in the Rovers and thumped him, whereupon Audrey threw herself at Ray and was hurt and furious when Ray told her that he didn't want her anymore. Audrey left the Street for Preston to be with her mother.
Ray & Deirdre Langton
Grounds of Divorce: Ray's adultery with Janice Stubbs
Ray and Deirdre Langton had been very happily married, especially of the arrival of daughter Tracy in January 1977. However their happiness turned sour in late 1977 when Deirdre was molested under the viaduct after returning home from a keep fit class at Bessie Street School. Both Deirdre and Ray were devastated, and Deirdre refused to report the incident to the police, much to Ray's anger an annoyance. Deirdre refused to let Ray touch her, and she suffered a breakdown. Poor Ray felt helpless and accused her of shutting him out. This led to Deirdre abandoning Tracy and disappearing. Ray called in the police. Deirdre was contemplating suicide by jumping off a motorway bridge, but she was distracted by a passing lorry driver seeking directions and made her way home for an emotional reunion with Ray. However their marriage wasn't the same, and Ray embarked on a passionate affair with a local waitress named Janice Stubbs. Janice worked at Dawson's bakery alongside Emily Bishop who was horrified when she learnt about Janice and Ray's affair. When Deirdre became suspicious Emily was forced to tell Deirdre all she knew and Deirdre confronted Ray. He was repentant and talked her out of leaving him him by promising her a new start. She agreed to emigrate with him, alarming her mother Blanche Hunt, who hit him for being unfaithful. After their leaving party at the Rovers, Deirdre realized she didn't trust Ray enough to start afresh in Amsterdam with him and refused to go. He left her and Tracy and headed to Holland alone. In 1979 he wrote to her demanding for a divorce, as he had intentions of marrying a local girl who was pregnant with his child. They divorced on Ray's grounds of adultery.
Alan & Elsie Howard
Grounds
of Divorce: Alan's adultery with Elaine Dennett
Alan and Elsie had moved to Alan's native Newcastle in 1973, hoping for a fresh start afte numerous marital troubles (this involved alcoholism and finance difficulties). Elsie had got a job at a warehouse in Newcastle, and Alan had also found work there. However, things didn't work out and after living in Newcastle for nearly three years, Elsie returned to Weatherfield in spring 1976, announcing she was again to be known as Elsie Tanner. She moved back into No11, but she had always thought that one day she and Alan might be reconciled. Her hopes were shattered when Alan's new girlfriend called Elaine Dennett called on Elsie in 1978 and pleaded with her for a divorce so that she and Alan could marry. Elsie refused to agree unless she heard this from Alan, and was shocked when he wrote to her declaring that their marriage was over. Elsie agreed to the divorce...
Arnold & Emily Swain
(Slightly
different from divorce, this time it's annulment)
Grounds of Divorce:
Bigamy on Arnold's part.
Emily never expected to be walking down the aisle again especially after the sudden and horrific death of her late husband Ernest Bishop. In 1980 Emily met and marred pet shop owner Arnold Swain (unaware that he was a bigamist).
They had met at Emily's home were Emily had started a new business venture named the Coronation Street Secretarial Bureau, with Deirdre typing and Emily bookkeeping. One of their first clients was pet shop owner Arnold Swain, who took an interest in Emily,but scared her off by asking questions about her finances. Deirdre turned private eye to look into Arnold's finances and discovered he was well provided for. Arnold proposed to Emily, but at first she felt she was too old to be someone else's wife. However he persisted, and on his second attempt she agreed, realizing he generally cared for her. They married in September 1980, but soon after their marriage he startled Emily by telling her of his plans tomove away from Weatherfield in favour of Derbyshire. Emily made another horrific discovery when she discovered that Arnold was in fact a bigamist, and still had a wife by the name of Margaret Swain. Disgusted with Arnold and herself she threw Arnold out of No.3 refusing to accept that he still loved her. After scrubbing the house clean, she reported the matter to the police and struggled to convince them that she wasn't making the story up.
Their marriage was later annulled and Emily reverted back to her name as Bishop. However Emily was horrified when Arnold made a return to No3 and tried to lead her into a suicide pact with him. Emily managed to escape his clutches and Arnold was arrested, before being put into a psychiatric hospital, were he died towards the end of 1981.
Fred & Eunice Gee
Grounds of
Divorce: Adultery on Eunice's part.
Fred had married girlfriend Eunice Nutall in 1981 in hope to gain his own pub, as the brewery were only giving pubs out to married couples. However the newly wedded Gee's were turned down by the brewery for a pub, when the brewery had discovered that as a barmaid Eunice had been sacked on suspicion of theft from the till. The couple sank into despair but Annie refused to be treated like a lodger in her own home and tried to find someoneto replace Fred. Annie had the the Gee's evicted, but they soon found a newhome when they were given the job as caretakers at the community centre; thought his was only for a short spell when Councillor Ben Critchley had received complaints from residents over Fred's bolshy attitude and demanded an investigation when he discovered Eunice's appointment hadn't gone through the official channels. He requested the Gee's removal but then took a fancy to Eunice and offered the couple jobs at his hotel. Fred refused to work for him, but Eunice decided to take the opportunity and walk out on their short-lived marriage. Fred left the centre and moved back into the Rovers with Annie. In 1982 Eunice showed up at the Rovers with a black eye and begged him to help her flee her boyfriend Ben Critchley who had turned violent. Fred helped her to remove her belongings from the hotel but refused to take her back and filed for a divorce.
Jim & Alma Sedgewick
Grounds for Divorce: Adultery on Jim's part.
Believing she was pregnant, Alma Halliwell married cafe owner Jim Sedgewick in 1976. Their marriage was a disaster, and when Alma really did fall pregnant, she had an abortion, rather than bring a child into a loveless home. When the marriage folded in 1982, Alma got Jim's Cafe on Rosamund Street as a divorce settlement. Jim ran off with a florist and Alma went to Florida with pools winner Philip. Unable to deal with his new fortune, Philip squandered money on sex, drugs, booze, andbad investments.
Ivan & Linda Cheveski
Grounds of Divorce: Irreconcilable differences
Elsie Tanner's daughter Linda, had married polish Ivan Cheveski in 1959, and emigrated to Canada with him shortly after the birth of their son Paul. Five years later they returned to live in Birmingham and in 1980 their second son Martin moved into No11 with Grandma Elsie, and tried to court factory worker Karen Oldfield. After Elsie had left Weatherfield , Linda stayed at No11 whilst divorcing husband Ivan after 25 years of marriage. She hoped for a relationship with builder Bill Webster, but left the area when Bill told her that he wasn't interested in her.
Brian & Gail Tilsley
Grounds
of Divorce: Adultery on Gail's part.
Brian and Gail Tilsley had married in 1979 and had been very happy; but their marriage began to rot when Brian had financial trouble and was forced to sell their beloved family home in Buxton Close to save the business. Gail, Brian and Nicky were forced to live with Brian's widowed mother Ivy at No5, but this 'temporary' arrangement annoyed Gail as she wanted her own home and her own space. So when Gail asked Brian for a home of her own he kept refusing her, Gail even told Brian that she wouldn't mind renting, but as usual he kept refusing her and eventually Gail packed her bags and left No5 in 1985; she left Brian and with with Nick they moved into a bedsit. Brian was furious with Gail and accused her of destroying their marriage; Brian decided that he wanted nothing to do with Gail anymore and considered himself as a free agent.However his mother Ivy made him see sense and they were eventually reconciled, before taking a council house in Hammond Road.
When Brian's cousin Ian Latimer visited Weatherfield in 1986 he and Gail embarked on a passionate affair whilst Brian was working away in Edinburgh. Gail confessed her affair to Brian when she found out she was pregnant. Brian left her and returned to his mother at No5, starting divorce proceedings, realising that their marriage was dead, and couldn't forgive Gail for being unfaithful. Brian and Gail divorced in early 1987. However by that time, little Sarah Louise had been born and Ian had taken a blood test, which proved that he was not the father. Sarah had been a month premature after Gail was rushed to hospital. She had stopped Brian from thumping Ian, and the Tilsley clan battled it out in the hospital waiting room while Gail gave birth. Although Brian accepted that Ian wasn't Sarah's father, Brian's ego prevented him from accepting the baby as his own. It was only months later, after he had kidnapped Nicky and tried to leave the countrywith him, that Brian realized he wanted Gail and Sarah in his life, the family were reconciled.
Mike & Susan Baldwin
Grounds
of Divorce: Cruelty after Susan 'aborted' their baby
In December 1985 Mike began to get friendly with Ken's daughter Susan Barlow, much to Ken's horror. Susan, only 20 years old, had moved in with her father and was working on the Recorder, selling advertising space. The romance continued apace, despite Ken's attempts to thwart it by revealing to Susan Mike's affair with Deirdre. By February 1986, Susan had left home and moved in with Mike, and the couple were planning marriage. Ken refused to give his blessing, but eventually, though reluctantly, gave his daughter away when Mike married Susan in May 1986.
In September, Vera Duckworth publicly abused Susan, believing she had shopped her for being absent from work. Mike sacked her, though she was soon reinstated. In December Susan began working in the factory, and tried to persuade Mike to manufacture Hopscotch, a range of children's clothing designed by college friend Cheryl Crossley. Mike humoured her by allowing her to run a small business producing the clothes, but when the profits are low, he closed it and employed Susan at a shop selling denim, attached to the factory.
The marriage was difficult - Mike had 43 years of swinging bachelordom behind him, and his views on gender had gone out with Lonnie Donnegan. What Mike really wanted from Susan was a good stay-at-home wife who would produce a flock of little Baldwin's, but Susan had other ideas. Susan was trained in market research and wanted a career. The differences between Mike and Susan were irreconcilable,and Mike ended up sacking Susan from the shop. She walked out on him, returning to her father, in August 1987. In November, she discovered she was pregnant,but had an abortion. Mike, acutely feeling the loss of another chance at fatherhood, called her a murderer, and the marriage was finally over. Soon after this Mike filed for a divorce, unaware that Susan hadn't really aborted their child.
Ken & Deirdre Barlow
Grounds of
Divorce: Ken's adultery with Wendy Crozier
Ken Barlow had married divorcee Deirdre Langton in1981, and they were very happy until Deirdre started an affair with business tycoon Mike Baldwin. Mike was everything opposite to Ken, but Ken forgave Deirdre for her affair with Mike. However from that day onwards in 1983, Ken and Mike became sworn enemies. Deirdre's affair with Mike rocked the Barlow's marriage, but it was finally wrecked in 1990 by Ken's affair with Wendy Crozier. Deirdre immediately started divorce proceedings upsetting both her daughter Tracy and husband Ken who was really hurt and sorry over his affair with Wendy.
Mike & Jackie Baldwin
Grounds of Divorce: Mike's 'adultery' with Alma Sedgewick
Jackie Ingram was Peter Ingram's widow who fell for Mike Baldwin's charms and became his second wife. The marriage lasted a week before Jackie discovered he had been only after her money and had used some of it to help out his girlfriend, Alma. She threatened Mike with her shotgun before leaving him. Mike was given a tidy sum of money as a pay-off for agreeing to a quick divorce.
Des & Steph Barnes
Grounds
of Divorce: Steph's adultery with Simon Beatty
Steph and Des moved into No6 on their wedding day, one of the houses built by Steph's father Maurice Jones. Jones sold the house to them at a cost price. Steph immediately made an impact on The Street by luring Kevin Webster upstairs - and shaving off his moustache.
Steph was the first 'new woman' on The Street - brash, self-assured and full of confidence.Although she was married, she had no intention of loosing her identity and retained her job on the perfume counter at Kendal's. However, Steph soon grew tired of Des -particularly when he bought a large boat, installed it in their back garden, and lavished more time and attention on it, rather than her. Steph turned to architect Simon Beatty for comfort - she had met him at work - and they were even caught by Derek Wilton. But when Steph confessed to Des, on the maiden voyage of his boat, he reacted not by fighting for her love, but by setting fire to the boat. Steph walked out with Simon, but they didn't last long as Steph found him too possessive.
When Steph returned in May 1992, she found Des had already installed Raquel in No6, first as a lodger, but very quickly as lover. Raquel was unceremoniously evicted to The Rovers Return, as Des thought he could patch up his marriage - but Steph had mearly broken up with Simon Beatty, and was looking for somewhere safe to stay until she found another man. Des and Steph divorced in 1993, although she tried to get back together with Des in 1995, when she was heavily pregnant by another man's child. Des refused to be reconciled with her.
Alec & Bet Gilroy
Grounds of
Divorce: The Gilroy's were granted a divorce after spending years
apart.
Alec had married Bet Lynch in 1987 after realising he had fallen in love with her. They had been drawn together in 1987 when Bet had borrowed £12,000 from Alec in order to buy the Rovers tenancy. However Bet soon ran into trouble when she realised that there was no way that she could re-pay Alec's loan, and fearing the humiliation of loosing the Rovers, she fled to Spain. However Alec soon tracked Bet down after a couple of months where he discovered that she was working in a cafe in Toromolinos. When Alec found her he proposed marriage and told her that she could return to the Rovers as the landlord's wife. Bet agreed to his proposal and they were married in September 1987.
The Gilroy's had a stormy marriage, but it came to an end in September 1992 when Alec accepted a job offer in Southampton as entertainment manager for Sunliners Cruises. However Bet refused to leave Weatherfield and the Rovers, so Alec went alone, and accused Bet of wrecking their marriage. In the summer of 1995, Alec briefly returned to Weatherfield when he heard that his granddaughter was getting married to Steve McDonald. Alec and Bet feared that Steve was only marrying Vicky for her money, and both had intentions to stopt he wedding going ahead. However they didn't succeed, as Vicky and Steve ran off to St Lucia to get married. Alec returned to Southampton after Bet had made it clear there was nothing for him to stay for, and it was around this time that they started divorce proceedings.
Bill & Elaine Webster
Grounds of Divorce: Adultery on Elaine's part
Widowed Bill Webster had a world wind romance with Percy Sugden's niece Elaine Prior in 1985, and it was that year that they were married before moving to Southampton were Elaine opened a salon. Eventually theWebster's moved from Southampton for Germany, and had a son called Carl. However after nearly ten years of wedded bliss Bill and Elaine separated and later divorced, after he had discovered that Elaine was having an affair.
Steve & Vicky McDonald
Grounds of Divorce: Irreconcilible differences
In 1996 Vicky and Steve's marriage of convenience came to an end. It had all began when Steve's shady contact Malcolm Fox told the police that Steve had supplied him with stolen whisky. To get him change his statement, Steve persuaded Vicky to pay Fox £6,000 and in court Fox said he'd incriminated Steve because of a vendetta against him. Months later Fox's wife told the police about the bribe and Vicky was arrested and charged with conspiring to prevent the course of justice. Steve tried to talk her into taking the blame for the whole incident, but she left him and cleared out their joint account. Facing the same charges, Steve continued to hound Vicky, begging her not to testify against him. In court he lied and said the bribe had been Vicky's idea but the judge saw through Steve and sentenced him to two years in prison. Vicky was released.
Wanting to put as much distance between them as possible, she signed up for a hotel management in Switzerland as Steve started his sentence in Strangeways. Their marriage was well and truely over, and she filed for a divorce.
Jim & Liz McDonald
Grounds
of Divorce: Jim's cruelty
Steve's parents Jim and Liz also divorced this year after over 20 years of wedded bliss. Jim had become increasingly jealous and suspicious of her movements. When she admitted to having an affair nearly 20 years ago with his best friend, Jim hit her and abandoned her in the middle of the night. Then Liz announced that she wanted a divorce and took possession of the house, changing the locks. Jim attempted to smash his way into No11 but was arrested and charged with assault. When he failed to meet bail conditions and continued to pester Liz , he was sent to Strangeways for three weeks. Liz took a job managing a wine bar, the Hourglass, and was hurt when the twins turned on her for thinking Jim might be capable of killing her.
Reg & Maureen Holdsworth
Grounds of Divorce: Reg's adultery with Yvonne Bannister
Reg had married his old flame Maureen Naylor in 1994 ,and together they ran the corner shop, until Reg took a managing job at Firman's Freezers. Maureen then ran the corner shop alongside disabled mother Maud Grimes. Maureen thought that she was happy with Reg (although mother Maud didn't think so, who couldn't stand Reg at all) until she discovered that the main reason for his promotion job in Lowerstoft was to be with his new love Yvonne Bannister, she was a heiress and pregnant with Reg's baby. Maureen was furious as well as hurt but agreed to a quick divorce and took the corner shop as a divorce settlement.
Kevin & Sally Webster
Grounds
of Divorce: Adultery by both Sally and Kevin
Kevin and Sally seemed like one of the happiest married couples in Coronation, ever since they had married in 1986; however nearly eleven years later their happiness was shattered when Kevin started a passionate affair with his business partner Natalie Horrocks. Their affair had gradually come together when Sally was forced to spend weeks in Scarborough to nurse her sick mother who had suffered a stroke. This led to Kevin becoming increasingly lonesome and that is when he started his affair with business partner Natalie Horrocks, who had made it clear to Kevin that she found him attractive, and it wasn't long before they ended up in bed together. Rita Sullivan suspected that there was something going on and warned Natalie off, but Kevin swore innocence.When her mother had recovered from her stroke Sally returned to Weatherfield and it wasn't long before she realized that all was not well. She tracked Kevin down to Natalie house and caught them in bed together. Kevin raced after her to Scarborough and the couple were united briefly when Rosie went missing for a day. Back in Weatherfield Sally threw Kevin out of their home before Natalie took him in.Then Sally realized that she needed money so she took a job as a machinist at Underworld.
She decided to forgive Kevin, but he upset her by admitting he loved Natalie. When Kevin and Natalie went on holiday together, Sally got mechanic Chris Collins to let her into Natalie's house and turned on the taps causing a flood. Furious Natalie threatened Sally with legal action and the woman ended up brawling it out on the street, rolling around on the cobbles. Sally fell for Chris and started an affair with him, but decided to stop seeing him,as she didn't want her daughters to be confused. Kevin began to miss his family and left Natalie to return home, then found out about Sally's affair with Chris. He called her a slut and thumped Chris, but by Christmas theWebster's were reconciled, but not for long though. Sally inherited fifty £50,000 following the death of her mother. Kevin hoped she would use the money to buy Natalie out of the garage but Sally refused, telling him that it was her money and not his. She agreed to a family holiday to Florida but by the time they had returned she had had enough of Kevin. She embarked on an affair with Greg Kelly. Kevin found about the affair and threw Sally out. She moved into Greg's flat over the Corner Shop and agreed with Kevin about a divorce, but not over the custody of the children.
Fred & Maureen Elliott
Grounds of Divorce: Maureen's adultery with Bill Webster
Twice divorced Maureen Holdsworth had begun to rely on Fred Elliott in 1997, especially after a fall out with her flame Bill Webster. Maureen leant on Fred for support after two youths had raided the corner shop and threw Maud Grimes out of her wheelchair. When Fred proposed marriage she agreed although she didn't love him. Fred bought No4 off Mavis Wilton and carried Maureen into the house after their wedding at a country hotel. Maud annoyed Maureen by selling their house and moving into an old folk's home, Mayfield Court. Maureen soon felt trapped and realized she hated Fred. Just days after marrying him she ran off to Germany with former lover Bill Webster, leaving Fred and Maud devastated. The Elliott's divorced in 1999, and Maureen continues to live in Germany with her lover Bill.
Norris & Angela Cole
Grounds of
Divorce: ??
In December 1999 Norris Cole returned to Weatherfield, down on his luck, as well as announcing that he and wife Angela were now divorced.
Nick & Leanne Tilsley
Grounds of Divorce: Irreconcilable differences
Leanne Tilsley shocked husband Nick with the news that she was pregnant. He was appalled at the thought of being a teenage parent, and urged on by Miranda Peters, demanded that she had an abortion. Leanne went along with the operation but afterwards shocked that Nick had told everyone she had miscarried. She realized she didn't love him and turned down his plans to emigrate to Canada, so he went alone. When Nick pressed for a divorce she demanded cash and eager Gail Platt wrote her a cheque for £2,000. In December1999 Leanne's decree absolute came through, and she reverted back to her maiden name as Battersby.
Mike & Alma Baldwin
Grounds
of Divorce: Mike's adultery with Julia Stone
In 1992 Mike married Alma Sedgewick. Alma used to run Jim's cafe on Rosamund Street, Jim being her first husband. She fell for Mike as soon as she saw him, but had to wait in the wings until he had married and divorced heiress Jackie Ingram before agreeing to marry him. Never having any children of her own, Alma saw Mark as a threat to her stability but Mike worked hard to prove his love for her. She embarrassed by falling for Audrey Roberts's son Stephen Reid but he wasn't interested in her. Alma sold her business when Mike had financial problems but the marriage fell apart when he was blackmailed for spending a night of passion with scheming Julia Stone. Mike and Alma divorced in February 2000 and he pressed ahead and married Linda Sykes.
Curly & Raquel Watts
Grounds
of Divorce: Marriage had broken down
Curly Watts had married the love of his life Raquel Wolstenhume in 1995, but they were only together for 11 months before Raquel took a job as an aromatherapist in Kuala Lumpur in 1996, unaware that she was pregnant with Curly's child. Curly Watts was stunned when his estranged wife Raquel, turned up on his doorstep on the early hours of New Year's Day. She told him that he had a 3-year old daughter named Alice, and lived in the Loire Valley with her French fiancé who was a Count. She pleaded Curly to give her a divorce, as she wanted to marry her fiancé, as she was also expecting his child. Curly agreed to the divorce and was overjoyed when Raquel told him that she wanted him to be part of Alice's life. Curly and Raquel finally divorced in summer 2000 and in October that year Curly went on holiday to France with his new girlfriend Emma, to help look after Alice whilst Raquel went on holiday.
Martin & Gail Platt
Grounds of
Divorce: Martin's adultery with Rebecca Hopkins
Martin Platt had married widowed Gail Tilsley in September 1991. They had known each other for many years, after Martin had worked beside Gail since 1985 at Jim's Cafe washing dishes. They had no idea that they would be together as an item five years later (especially with Martin being 10 years her junior), and that she would have his child David, who was born on Christmas 1990, joining Gail's two other children Nick and Sarah Louise fathered by Brian Tilsley.
Gail and Martin married and, despite opposition from her former mother-in-law Ivy Brennan, he adopted the children and bought No8 Coronation Street for the family. Gail worked at the cafe while Martin trained to be a nurse. He fell under the spell of Carmel Finnan, a fellow student who became infatuated with him and attempted to break up his marriage, but failed. Instead, Martin got drunk over Christmas and had sex with another nurse - Cathy Power. When Gail found out she was deeply hurt, as well as being furious, however Gail forgave him.
Family rows had dominated the Platt's lives. Nick rebelled and changed his name back to Tilsley in compliance with Ivy's will and thus inherited No5 Coronation Street from her. He sold it to his step-grandfather Don Brennan, before going to Canada for two years. Sarah Louise became pregnant at the age of 13 in 2000, and gave birth to a daughter whom she called Bethany. After the birth Martin confessed to Gail that he'd been having a six month affair with nurse Rebecca Hopkins, after Rebecca had left the country for Dubai, which at first did leave Martin heartbroken. Gail was furious and came to the end of her tether with Martin, throwing him out before filing for divorce, leaving Sarah and David devastated. Martin now lives in a flat in Victoria Street, the Platt's decree absolute came through on the 30 April 2001.
Fred proposed to Linda Baldwin's mother, Eve and she accepted. They married in Sept. 2001. Eventually Eve talked Fred into buying the Rovers for her and they moved in to the pub. Eve's name went over the door as licensee and all seemed to be well. In May 2003, Fred discovered that Eve had gone to see a man. The man was Linda's father, Ray Sykes, who had heard from Linda who had been missing since Fred and Eve's wedding. Linda was alive, Ray told Fred, and living in Dublin. He also told Fred that he and Eve had never been divorced. Fred confronted Eve who admitted it all. Fred tossed her out on her ear, and told Mike, who was under suspicion of doing away with Linda, that Linda was alive. Fred reverted the license for the pub back to his name and got his marriage annulled though it technically wasn't legal in the first place.
Mike and Linda (Sykes) BaldwinLinda had an affair with Mike's son, Mark, during her engagement to Mike. Mike found out just before the wedding but married her anyway. He eventually forgave her and they had a fairly even marriage until Alma, Mike's ex wife, became ill with cancer. Mike didn't find out until nearly the end and rushed to Alma's side, spending the last few weeks with her. Linda was furious and slept with Harvey Ruben for revenge. Once Mike found out, it was out and out war again. At the wedding of Fred and Eve, Mark again turned up on the day of the wedding because he had just found out his former stepmother, Alma had died. Audrey asked Mark to drive her to the wedding. While there, Mark, Linda and Mike had a confrontation. Mike was rough with Linda and was seen hustling her into a car and driving off. Linda later disappeared without a trace and mike's car ended up in the river. Mike was under suspicion of killing Linda but (see above) it turned out she had fled to Dublin. Mike quietly divorced her when he found out.
Steve and Karen McDonald
Karen was promoted to supervisor in Underworld by manager Joe Carter. She was attracted to Joe but kept her distance even though Joe pursued her. steve's jealousy got the better of him and while Karen was away at a convention with Joe, he had a one night stand with a woman he picked up in a bar. He confessed, Karen left him and moved in with Joe, starting divorce proceedings. When Karen found out that Joe used her to get revenge on Mike, she turned in Joe to Mike but left town. Steve tracked her down and the two reconciled and planned a huge proper church wedding to remarry.
Les and Janice Battersby
Althought Janice and Les have been separated for well over a year, and in spite of an unfortunate one night stand in the summer of 2002, Janice and Les are finally divorced. Les spent most of the time faffing about and delaying signing the papers, hoping that Janice would come back to him or out of spite when she was living with Mick but Janice grimly waited him out and the divorce is now final.
Shelly and Peter Barlow (invalid, still married to Lucy)
Shortly after their wedding, Lucy found out that Peter was still seeing Shelley and indeed, Shelley was still his fiancee. Wouldn't you throw him out on his ear as well? Divorce proceedings were began. The divorce could not become final for a year, however. During this time, Peter illegally married Shelley who also threw him out when she found out he married Lucy and was still legally married to Lucy. This marriage was swiftly annulled.
Roy Cropper and Tracy Barlow (in name only) (annulled)
Tracy drugged Roy and let him believe they had sex. She became pregnant by Steve McDonald, with whom she had slept with before the Roy incident but she let Roy think it was his baby. Roy and Hayley pursuaded Tracy to "sell" them her baby for a large amount of money and Roy nominally married Tracy to make sure he had parental rights. The truth came out about the baby's real parentage and Roy instigated annullment proceedings.
Lucy and Peter Barlow
(see 2003, Peter and Shelley for reasons) Steve and Karen McDonald
Karen's ongoing jealousy and rivalry with Tracy Barlow, the mother of Steve's daughter, Amy, ended up in a major feud. Tracy continued to needle Karen who had had a miscarraige and she snapped, taking Amy and later setting fire to a van letting Steve think initially that Amy was in it. She was not, Karen had left her with the Croppers. Karen and Tracy had a blow out fight on the Underworld roof when Tracy had thought Karen killed Amy. Later, Tracy tried to run over Karen with a cab. Steve finally had enough and told Karen to leave on Christmas Day.
Frankie and Danny Baldwin
Frankie found out about Danny's affair with his son Jamie's fiance, Leanne Battersby and threw him out of the house in October.
Sunita, pregnant with twins, discovered that Dev had several children by different mothers, all women that worked in his shops. He'd given the mothers jobs and accomodations rent free but had no real contact with his children, one of whom was an adult with a baby. He never told Sunita about the other children, either. Sunita felt if he could keep such a big secret from her that she could never trust him and left him in December, 2005.
Jason and Sarah (Platt) Grimshaw
Sarah and Jason tried to get married once already but he jumped out the gents' toilet window at the registry office. Sarah later pursued him and won him back. The married on Oct. 31 though the wedding was nearly interrupted by the news that David had driven his car into the canal. It was a bid by David to disrupt Sarah's wedding in an ongoing war between them. Sarah got her revenge by making it seem that David was using drugs so that their Uncle Steven would retract a job offer that would have sent him to Milan. She angled for the job herself and, at the train station, admitted to Jason that she set David up. Jason dumped her there on the platform and she went to Milan alone. They didn't formally divorce until 2010 when he wanted to marry Tina McIntyre.
Liz (McDonald) and Vernon Tomlin
Liz married drummer Vernon in a swanky New Year's Eve wedding. Vernon was the opposite of fiery ex Jim but after Jim thumped Vernon on their wedding day, Liz decided that she would marry Vernon though she had had second thoughts. The marraige lasted until the summer when, faced with starting a bar of their own, Liz realized she couldn't face a lifetime with Vernon and made him leave.
Carla Connor and Tony Gordon
Carla had an affair with Liam Connor, the brother of her late husband Paul. She and Liam were going to run away together but she found out Liam's wife, Maria, was pregnant and told Liam she didn't love him. She married Tony as scheduled in December but a few months later, in early 2009, she found out that Tony had had Liam killed on his stag night because he'd found out about the affair. Carla immediately left Tony and went to L.A. Later in 2009, she returned to threaten Tony with exposure if he didn't dump widow Maria whom he'd fallen for. Tony tried to send a henchman to kill Carla but after a fight, Carla knocked Jimmy out. Tony convinced her she'd killed the henchman and she took off again but returned after Tony ended up turning himself in after nearly killing Roy Cropper. Tony went to jail and Carla took over the factory and she instigated divorce proceedings.
Sally and Kevin Webster
Sally found out about Kevin's affair with Molly Dobbs from Molly herself as she was dying, trapped in the corner shop after the tram crashed into it. Sally threw Kevin out and started divorce proceedings and it all got very messy. Kevin moved back in with baby Jack after he had an accident and hopes that he and Sally will reconcile.
Steve and Becky McDonald
Steve and Becky got together after a drunken one night stand. After Steve lied to get Becky off a court charge, he realized he loved her and they became a couple. They got married though their first attempt was a washout as the bride was too drunk. They discovered Becky couldn't carry a baby and they failed the adoption process but ended up with wee Max, Becky's sister's son. Kylie asked for 20,000 pounds in exchange for the lad and another 5000 after the tram crash. Becky stole the money from the open safe in the corner shop, broken from the tram crash. Steve was appalled but forgave Becky eventually but when Kylie returned as David Platt's wife and they started making noises about wanting Max back, and Tracy also found out about the baby-buying scheme and held that over Steve's head, Steve had enough and called Social Services. They lost Max to Care and when Becky found out, she left Steve, feeling betrayed. The last straw was Steve's post-separation one night stand with Tracy (again) and the discovery that she was now pregnant with his baby (again).
Peter and Leanne Barlow
Peter and Leanne have had a rocky relationship, a lot of it because of Peter's alcoholism. They split up and Leanne left town for awhile but Peter, after nearly burning down his flat, got back on the wagon, found Leanne and persuaded her to come back to him and Simon. She did. Peter and Leanne planned to get married but Leanne got the wobblers. While she and Nick were getting a Bistro ready to open, they fell into an affair. Carla found out and though she didn't tell Peter, she nearly persuaded Nick to do it. Except the tram crashed through the Bistro and Peter nearly died. Leanne married Peter in the hospital when she realized she did love him. Nick then tried to break them up by getting Peter to drink again. Tracy found out about the affair with Nick and told Peter who confronted Leanne with divorce papers at the altar on their wedding-vow renewal ceremony. They did stay together in the end but later on, she miscarried a baby which devastated her. AT that time, Carla Connor, who had been chasing Peter on and off, managed to comfort him with a very hot kiss. Peter pushed her away.
Carla was engaged to her partner, Frank Foster but he raped her when she rejected him the night before their wedding. Peter helped pick up the pieces, just as a friend but they then started an affair, the affair Frank thought they were having all along. Their affair with Peter was outed publically at the trial just before Frank was found not guilty of the rape and was killed in the factory. Peter thought Carla might have done it and Carla thought Peter did it in a drunken blackout. It was actually Frank's mother but it was too late for Leanne and Peter. Peter declared his love for Carla and Leanne fought for custody of Simon over the next few months. The divorce was final in November and Nick, whom Leanne had taken back up with asked Leanne to marry him.
Tracy and Steve McDonald
Steve discovered at his reception that Tracy lied about ex-wife Becky pushing her down the stairs, causing a miscarraige. He left her immediately and since Tracy refused to annul the marraige, Steve had to wait a full year to apply for divorce.
Peter and Carla Barlow
Carla discovered that Peter had an affair with young Tina McIntyre. The affair started on their wedding night when Carla got drunk and Peter kissed Tina. The night she found out was the engagement party for her brother Rob who was marrying Tracy Barlow. She had just revealed that she was pregnant and Tina overheard the announcement at the party, when she had been waiting for Peter to run away with her. He never planned to but let her think he was. Peter argued with Tina and then told Carla everything. Meanwhile, Tina was killed by Rob Donovan. Peter got arrested for the crime and Carla lost the baby. She divorced Peter and moved on with her life.
Gail and Michael Rodwell
Gail married Michael but just before the ceremony, the first one, she got a bit nervous and Michael decided not to go through with the wedding. They rescheduled. But shortly before the second ceremony, Gail found out that the man that said he was Michael's son was an impostor and the real Gavin Rodwell had turned up and was blackmailing her. Since Michael has a bad heart, Gail didn't want to cause him to have a heart attack. They did get married but when Michael found out that Gail kept the secret from him, he left her. They never did get formally divorced and in fact were going to renew their vows after reuniting when Michael suffered a fatal heart attack in late 2016 and died.
Sharif and Yasmeen Nazir
Sharif had been having an affair for 7 years with Yasmeen's very good friend, Sonia. This came out during the party held for the Nazir's 40th wedding anniversary. Yasmeen found out a few days before when she overheard Sonia and Sharif talking. She threw him out and he left town.
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