Iconic EastEnders duo Patrick and Yolande Trueman are one of the soap’s most beloved pairings, having met and joining in marriage over twenty years ago. The loved-up pair will tie the knot again tonight (Monday, September 1), if Patrick can overcome his fear to make it down the aisle.
But how did Patrick and Yolande’s ill-fated first marriage end? Join us as we take a look back at the marriage story of one of EastEnders’ greatest couples.
EastEnders’ first meeting and marriage of Patrick and Yolande
Patrick and Yolande first met in 2003, during his holiday to Trinidad. Yolande enjoyed a steamy relationship with Patrick in spite of her marriage to the strict Victor Duke, and joined her bit on the side when he returned to Walford that year.
Patrick was successful in convincing Yolande to stay, even refusing Victor’s offer of £10,000 to ‘give’ his wife back. The pair were married for the first time in 2004, and ran a small business empire together, which consisted of the Bed and Breakfast, Minute Mart and Trueman’s Motors.
Trouble in paradise
By 2006, Patrick and Yolande’s marriage had hit a rocky patch, after he embarked upon an affair with Pat Evans. He and Yolande pair stuck together, although they faced even more pressure when an old bandmate, Aubrey Valentine, claimed to have had a one-night stand with Yolande.
While Patrick learned this not to be true, the pair grew more distant when she accepted a job at the Minute Mart HQ in Birmingham. Unwilling to leave Walford, Patrick stood by and let her go alone, in spite of his initial plan to relocate for her. After some time apart, the pair had finalised their divorce papers by 2009.
Oh, Patrick!
Return to Walford and rekindled romance
Following Yolande’s brief return in 2017, Patrick finally began to realise that she had been the love of his life. In 2023, he set out on a mission to win Yolande back, and travelled to Birmingham in search of his lost love.
When he returned later that year, he and Yolande had begun an affair, which resulted in her new partner, Anton, kicking her out of the house. Although it was touch and go for a while, the pair ultimately decided to make another go of their relationship, and have been at each other’s side ever since.
This included Yolande’s ordeal at the hands of Pastor Clayton last year, in the aftermath of which the couple struggled with intimacy issues. However, they managed to overcome, and announced their re-engagement earlier this year.
Will their second marriage be happily ever after for Patrick and Yolande?
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