Anna Friel has revealed she was ‘distraught’ when she was dumped by her first boyfriend Darren Day, after a three-year romance.
The couple began dating while Anna, 49, was starring on Brookside in 1994, with the actor even proposing to her with a £30,000 engagement ring.
Just two weeks after dumping Anna, Darren, 57, went onto date Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw, and he proposed with the same ring he’d purchased for his ex.
Speaking to The Sunday Times Style Magazine, Anna admitted her main regret from her split from Darren was leaving large amounts of her clothing collection behind, as she later learned her ex had thrown them away when she returned to collect them.
She said: I had the best 1990s capsule wardrobe and when I split up with my first boyfriend, Darren Day, I was so distraught, I grabbed the essentials and left my whole wardrobe there, including an incredible Afghan coat from the Kings Road.
‘I remember years later calling to ask for my clothes back and he’d ditched them all.’
Anna Friel has revealed she was ‘distraught’ when she was dumped by her first boyfriend Darren Day, after a three-year romance (the couple are pictured together in 1996)
The actress admitted her main regret from her split from Darren was leaving large amounts of her clothing collection behind
Anna later married David Thewlis whom she shares a daughter Gracie, 20, with, but they separated in 2010. She also married Notting Hill star Rhys Ifans in 2011 but the pair went their separate ways in 2014.
Darren found love since with actress Stephanie Dooley who he wed in 2010, and they divorced nine years later.
The West End star previously shared that while he and Anna were dating, Robbie Williams tried to steal her away from him.
Speaking in the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2016, he said: ‘He phoned my house one day, I picked it up and a guy said, ”Hi, it’s Derrick from Go Discs. Can I speak to Anna please?”
‘So I passed the phone to her and she was talking for about 10 minutes. At times, I noticed she looked very uncomfortable so afterwards I asked if she was alright.
‘Then she told me it was Robbie Williams on the phone and he’d just asked her out. I was just, like, the cheek of it!’
Anna, who first rose to fame for her role as Beth Jordache in Channel 4 soap Brookside, made it clear in the past her daughter Gracie was less likely to follow in her footsteps.
Speaking to Daily Mail back in 2020, Anna confirmed Gracie doesn’t want to be an actor: ‘She doesn’t. Her dad’s such a fine actor, she’s grown up on so many sets, she loves the creative world but she’s more into her music.
Anna and Darren began dating in 1994 while she was starring in Brookside, but despite proposing to her, he proceeded to end their relationship in 1997
Anna later married David Thewlis whom she shares a daughter Gracie, 20, with, (pictured) but they separated in 2010
‘Playing guitar is her escape. She says: ‘It’s your job and you get paid for it. I’ve got great parents.’ She’s very good at having a positive attitude.’
Speaking in 2020 she said: ‘It has basically been the two of us since Gracie was five, so we’re a little unit. During the third year of her life, she went to ten countries. Everywhere I go, I take her.’
The mother and daughter have been all over the world making movies and TV and working for charity, but the teenager called time on their adventures during the pandemic due to her school studies.
‘Gracie said: ”That’s our last year of travelling.” She’s doing an international baccalaureate and she just can’t be moving schools. It means that when I go away, I’ll be without her.’
