BBC EastEnders’ Ben Mitchell’s dramatic real life from co-star fling to pregnant girlfriend split
EastEnders' Ben Mitchell has led a fairly eventful life, even by Albert Square standards, and the actor who plays him has also had to navigate plenty of drama away from set
Even by the usual rollercoaster standards of Albert Square, EastEnders’ legend Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) has led an extremely eventful life, from being imprisoned for the manslaughter of Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) to discovering his late mum Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) was in fact still alive and kicking, having faked her own death.
Things haven’t exactly mellowed in recent times, with Ben recently left devastated after his bereaved friend Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) was put into an induced coma following a horrific car accident. As Ben continues to fear for Jay’s fate, we take a look at the life of actor Max away from Walford, including his rather complicated love life.
Co-star fling
Max and Shona grew close behind the scenes
After months of dating rumours, Max and co-star Shona McGarty – who plays fiery Whitney Dean in the BBC soap – made their relationship Instagram official in August 2022 with a happy couple’s pic at House & Classics Festival in Essex. This followed a summer of speculation, most notably when Shona and Max made an affectionate appearance on the red carpet at the Soap Awards in June. That same month, they were seen strolling hand in hand on their way to grab a kebab.
In May of that same year, sources told The Sun that the pair had become “inseparable” on set, following Max’s split from girlfriend Roisin Buckle. The source claimed: “Max and Shona are mad for each other. They have been spending quality time together for a while now. Max and Shona’s friendship is more enthralling than an EastEnders’ plotline.” At the time gossip began to swirl around the pair, Max’s ex Roisin had announced she was pregnant with their child, while Shona had reportedly been single since separating from fiancé Ryan Harris.
By October 2022, Max and Shona’s brief romance came to an end, but it appears the pair have remained good friends. Opening up about the break up during a June 2023 interview with the Mirror, Shona shared: “It’s lovely to be here tonight because Max’s mum’s here and I haven’t seen her for ages, I adore her. So it’s lovely to catch up with her. We’re actually better than ever. It’s a friendship, we’re such in a good place. You take a risk, and you do something and it doesn’t work out, but that’s life, you’ve got to take that risk.”
This month, Shona revealed that she is now dating musician David Bracken, describing him as her “whole world” in a loved-up Instagram post.
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Split from pregnant girlfriend
In September 2022, Max’s former partner Roisin gave birth to their son Reginald, with elated dad Max announcing the happy news in a sweet black and white Instagram post. Captioning the pic, Max wrote: “Reginald Buckle welcome to the world son. Born on the 19th September 2022. Greatest feeling in the world and a love like I’ve never felt. Will never get over the feeling of my son looking me in the eye for the first time. Well done to Roisin on being such a strong first-time Mum and taking to motherhood like a champ.
“Heart is very full of love and gratitude, and can’t wait to love this little man for eternity! [love heart emoji]”
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Unfortunately, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the co-parents. Insurance executive Roisin has previously claimed that Max hadn’t seen her in weeks in the lead-up to Reginald’s birth, stating that she felt “down” and “vulnerable” after the soap star allegedly didn’t turn up to her 20-week scan. Speaking on her parenting podcast One Mum And A Baby back in July 2022, Roisin, 37, recalled: “At the time, I was all over the place, crying, not being able to look at a future without him by my side.
“There was hope we may co-parent but I haven’t heard from him in about six weeks now so I’m not really sure where that stands. The door is open and I would never stop him seeing his son so hopefully we hear from him.”
In response to these claims, a friend of Max’s told The Sun: “Max is saddened to hear Roisin make these claims as he has made it very clear that he will always be there for his son. But for the sake of his child’s privacy, he is not prepared to discuss these matters publicly and wants to do things the right way.”
