THERE’S no such thing as wedded bliss in soapland.
Most characters struggle to make it down the aisle without a hitch – or disaster strikes not long after they’ve said ‘I do’.
Kathy’s wedding had a shocking twist when it was claimed Rocky was still married
Jo hadn’t signed the divorce papers that she was sent by her ex, making him a bigamist
This week EastEnders’ fans saw the nuptials of Kathy Beale and Rocky Cotton rocked by the shock arrival of his ex, Jo.
At their reception in the Queen Vic she dropped the bombshell that she is still married to Rocky – because she hadn’t signed the divorce papers.
She raged: “He went ahead and committed bigamy, earning himself a nice little seven-year prison stretch.”
After getting a slap from Kathy, Jo then demanded “fifty grand” to keep her mouth shut – meaning the happy couple’s honeymoon period was over before it began.
But their wedding woes are far down the league table of calamitous soap weddings, as we reveal…
Groom shot during first dance
Hollyoaks fans were eager to see Calvin Valentine and Carmel McQueen finally get their happy ending after years of mistakes and issues kept them apart.
The pair had already married and divorced once – but their second wedding ended in tragedy when Calvin was shot during their first dance.
The couple had been trying to recreate the Dirty Dancing lift when the shooter struck – and Calvin died in his heartbroken bride’s arms.
Carmel barely got to enjoy her wedding before her husband was shot
Calvin’s shooter wasn’t revealed for six months after the wedding
The identity of the gunman wasn’t revealed on screen, sparking a huge ‘whodunnit’ storyline.
The culprit was revealed six months later as Carmel’s cousin Theresa McQueen – who was seeking revenge on Calvin for getting her pregnant.
Fake pregnancy bombshell
Aidan confessed his affair with Maria to Eva before their wedding started
Maria Connor gatecrashed the wedding and told everyone that Eva was faking her pregnancy
Sleeping with your fiancee’s mate is classic soap love rat behaviour – and it led to a car crash wedding for Corrie‘s Aidan Connor and Eva Price in 2017.
Aidan came clean to Eva before the ceremony – who was already secretly in-the-know and had pretended she was pregnant to entrap her man.
While they were stood at the altar, spurned lover Maria Connor stormed in and announced their affair.
Realising Aidan had beat her to it, she then dropped the bombshell that Eva was faking her pregnancy – causing Aidan to cancel the wedding and end their romance.
Furious that Maria had ruined her plan, Eva launched herself at her nemesis and the pair had a Bridget Jones’ Diary-esque scrap in the wedding venue’s water fountain.
Helicopter horror
Debbie and Pete’s wedding was ruined when their exit helicopter crashed into the venue
While the bridge and groom survived, several of their guests didn’t
Debbie Dingle and Pete Barton making it down the aisle in 2015 was an achievement in itself after she cheated on him with his brother Ross.
But things took a heartbreaking turn when the helicopter Pete had hired for a surprise a Hollywood exit from their reception crashed into the venue.
The devastated couple fled, but sadly some of their guests, including Ruby Hasewell, perished.
The crash also trapped Diane Sugden and Val Pollard in a fairground mirror maze. While Diane escaped, Val didn’t make it out.
Affair exposed
Karen wanted her second wedding to Steve to be her dream wedding
Karen was furious with Tracey’s interruption and threatened her with a stiletto
Corrie’s Steve McDonald and Karen Phillips had one of the most tempestuous relationships on the street.
Their first wedding in 2001 was the result of a bet Karen made with pal Janice Battersby.
Their relationship then fell apart when Karen discovered Steve had a one-night stand behind her back – so she sought revenge by bedding someone else as well.
In 2004 Karen came up with a mad scheme to get divorced and then wed again so that she and Steve could have the wedding of their dreams.
But their big day was ruined when Tracey Barlow burst in to announce Steve was the father of her unborn child.
Despite the bombshell interruption, Steve somehow managed to persuade Karen to go through with it – after she’d threatened Tracey with a stiletto.
Tragic bride
Ronnie Mitchell drowned in the pool after her wedding
Ronnie had attempted to save her sister who had hit her head jumping in
EastEnders couple Jack Branning and Ronnie Mitchell finally made it down the aisle in 2017.
But on the evening of their wedding, tragedy struck.
While Jack was reading their children a bedtime story, Ronnie and her sister Roxy decided to continue celebrating by drinking Champagne by the hotel pool.
Roxy had unknowingly had her drink spiked with drugs and hit her head when jumping in for a swim.
Devoted Ronnie jumped in wearing her wedding dress to try to save her sister – but both were shown lifeless in the pool at the end of the episode.
It later transpired that Roxy survived – as she made a shock return to Albert Square earlier this year.
Jilted at the altar
Chas waited to jilt Carl at the altar over his affair with her best friend Eve
Carl had been having an affair with Eve before Chas proposed
Soapland loves an explosive reveal, and Chas Dingle produced just that during her wedding to Carl King in 2010.
When the bride discovered her man was having an affair with her best friend, Eve, she hatched a plan to get her revenge.
She waited until she was at the altar to jilt Carl – announcing she had known about their sordid affair all along.
Chas even chose to have Eve as one of her bridesmaids and dragged a confession out of her in the church.
Pleased with her big reveal, Chas held back her furious brother Cain before flattening Carl with a smack across the face.
Deadly plunge
The couple wed for the second time just hours before Bradley fell to his death
Bradley Branning fell off a rooftop while running away from cops on his wedding day
Despite finding out his wife Stacey Slater had cheated on him with his dad Max, Bradley Branning forgave her.
They decided to get married again, with their second wedding taking place during EastEnders’ special live episode in 2015 to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
But it didn’t go to plan; Bradley was under suspicion for the death of Archie Mitchell, and before the newlyweds could leave for their honeymoon cops chased the groom to a rooftop, where he slipped and fell to his death.
A devastated Stacey saw the fall from across the Square and was seen screaming and sobbing as she tried to reach his lifeless body.
Grisly discovery
While the pair got married, their dad’s body was being dug up by Sam Mitchell
A drunk Sam dug up Den as his children got married – unaware he was dead
Dennis and his adopted sister Sharon Watts had a passionate yet complicated romance – scuppered by their dad Den’s objections.
They found their way back to each other, and in 2004 they ran off together, before returning to Walford in the summer of 2005 to tie the knot.
They demanded to speak to their dad Den, but were told by his wife Chrissie that he’d left her for another woman.
Little did they know Den had been killed by Chrissie, Dennis’ ex Zoe Slater and Sam Mitchell on the show’s 20th anniversary episode in February 2005.
On they day they got married in August 2005, Sam was arrested during their reception after digging up Den’s body to incriminate Chrissie – leaving the happy couple horrified.
