Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure posed for a rare photo with her fiancé Jonny Owen in a gushing Instagram tribute.
The Trigger Point star may be comfortable portraying characters in front of the cameras, but she tends to keep her private life away from the spotlight. She made an exception for the Welsh actor, producer, and director's birthday, writing in the caption: "Penblwydd Hapus @jonathanowen71. Cheers to you baby!! Love you so much it’s actually ridiculous xxx."
© InstagramThe latest picture showed Vicky in a khaki green quilted jacket teamed with gold hoop earrings, styling her dark hair in natural curls in the loved-up selfie. She leaned into her fiancé, who sported the same wide grin and wore a blue jacket with a black collar and a peaked cap.
Pointing out Vicky's sweet nod to Nottingham Forest Football Club director Jonny's Welsh heritage, fans wrote: "How very lovely of you to say that in Welsh," and: "Aww said it in welsh, love it."
Vicky and Jonny met on the set of the 2013 film Svengali, written by Jonny, in which she played his on-screen girlfriend. At the time, Jonny was separating from his first wife Eleanor Braines, with whom he shares his daughter, DJ and presenter Katie Owen.
© GettyOn Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast, Vicky admitted she "just knew" he was the one when they first met. "When we first spoke it was on the phone. I came off the phone and I just knew." She added: "I've never loved anyone more than I've loved Jonny."
The feeling was reciprocated, with Jonny confessing he thought she was "incredibly attractive" and fell in love with her very quickly.
"I remember we were walking down Southbank [in London] on a weekend break from filming and we were going to the Tate Modern and she turned to me and asked me if I fancied going to the pub instead. And I was like, well, yeah!
"I thought, 'What a girl'. I think we almost simultaneously both went, 'I fancy you!' It just tumbled from there and we haven’t been apart since that moment.
"I was going through a divorce at the time and I’d been separated for seven or eight months," he told Wales Online, adding: "I think we went from ‘I like you’ in the pub to ‘I love you’ in about 10 seconds."
Their romance blossomed off-screen, and they got engaged on Christmas Day in 2017. Speaking to the Nottingham Post about the casual proposal, Vicky said: "We stayed at home for the first time together on Christmas Eve so had Christmas morning together.
"He popped the question over a cup of tea - we moved onto the bubbles by 8.30am."
They later took a walk to Wollaton Park, using the stunning tree-lined lake as a backdrop for their engagement photo. Holding up her left hand to the camera, showing off her solitaire diamond ring, the actress simply wrote: "YESSSSSSSSS!!!"
While they have been engaged for almost five years, Vicky said she doesn't want to "rush" their wedding.
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