Michelle Collins' love life is almost as a dramatic as her EastEnders character, Cindy Beale's. All eyes will be on Cindy tonight as her affair with Junior Knight is exposed in explosive scenes - with Michelle, 62, telling the Mirror viewers will "hate Cindy" after the episode. Off screen, Michelle's romantic life has also been full of drama, including the tragic death of her daughter's father as well as years "looking for love in all the wrong places".
The Hackney-born star discussed her struggle to find love previously, telling Kaye Adams' How To Be 60 podcast: "I just seem to be one of these people who it's taken me a long time to find myself. I was maybe looking in the wrong places, looking for the wrong people." Michelle also admitted she'd been engaged "a few times" but didn't marry until a psychic told her she wouldn't find true love until she was 50.
So, as we settle in to watch Cindy's bombshell Christmas episode tonight, here's the lowdown on the actress' love life off-screen, including her tragic romance with Fabrizio Tassalini...
Tragic romance with Fabrizio Tassalini Michelle's first notable romance was with her ex-partner Fabrizio Tassalini – who sadly died on October 31 2014 after losing his battle with liver cancer at his home in Melbourne, Australia . During their relationship, the former couple welcomed a daughter together – Maia Rose – in 1996 despite splitting up in 1998 albeit remaining cordial in order to co-parent their little girl. Michelle revea.