Emmerdale’s Rhona Goskirk has had a dramatic love life on the soap but in reality, actress Zoe Henry is loved-up with her co-star husband.
Emmerdale Zoe Henry’s romance with Jeff Hordley from heartbreaking loss to illness(Image: PA)
Zoe Henry is a firm favourite on Emmerdale playing Rhona Goskirk, but what do we know about her real-life marriage to co-star Jeff Hordley?
The actress made her debut as Rhona Goskirk on the ITV soap way back in 2001. Over the years she has been involved in several big storylines.
Especially at the moment as in recent weeks she has been torn apart emotionally after her former flame Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) made a shock return to the village earlier this year.
However, in Monday’s episode (April 6) Rhona finally made her decision, and told Graham that she wanted to be with Marlon. Away from the ITV soap, Zoe is married to fellow Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle.
However, the couple have had their fair share of hardships during their romance. Here, we’re taking a look inside their lives together.
Jeff on ‘making the moves’ on Zoe
Zoe and Jeff first met at drama school and quickly struck up a relationship. “We got together at drama school. We’ve been together 28 years,” Zoe said on Lorraine in 2022.
She added: “With the connection on set, we were together for 10 years before that as well. We got together in 1994, I believe.”
Jeff also previously opened up about meeting Zoe, revealing it was an instant attraction. He told Soaplife magazine in 2011: “We met at drama school in 1994. I saw Zoe and realised she was the girl for me. I made moves and, fortunately, she said yes on that occasion too.”
Going from strength to strength, Jeff popped the question to Zoe right after she won Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the Manchester Evening News’s theatre awards back in 2002.
He told the publication: “I had been planning to propose for a some time and thought to myself: ‘If she wins today, I’ll do it today’. When she won, I leaped out of my seat in front of her.
“Then it dawned on me that her winning meant that I had to propose – and that’s when the nerves set in. Fortunately for me, she said yes.”
Jeff and Zoe’s family
Loved-up duo Jeff and Zoe later tied the knot in 2003 at the majestic Hedingham Castle, and celebrated later at the Swan Hotel in Lavenham.
Among the guests were some familiar faces from Emmerdale, including Emma Atkins, who portrays Cain’s former flame Charity Tate, and Charley Webb, better known as his on-screen daughter Debbie.
Then in 2005, Zoe and Jeff welcomed a little girl named Violet into their lives. In 2008, they had a son, Stan and the family live in the Yorkshire Dales.
However, in 2024, the family suffered a sad loss when their dog passed away. Appearing on Lorraine in April that year, Zoe revealed the family would be getting a new dog.
“We lost our dear old doggy Rita back in February, which was truly awful. It feels not the right time but it’s never going to be the right time,” Zoe shared. She added: “So Geraldine is arriving in the house on Friday. Not sure what’s going to happen but it’s going to be fun.”
Zoe on Jeff’s shock diagnosis and health issue
Jeff was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when he was 18 and has had several hospital stays due to his condition. He had been experiencing stomach cramps and diarrhoea for six years prior to his diagnosis.
In 2019, Zoe opened up about her husband’s condition and heartbreakingly revealed that the diagnosis has changed their lives. Speaking on Loose Women, Zoe said: “He was diagnosed when he was about 18, so he was 23 when I met him, and it’s sort of changed our lives.”
But Zoe revealed one particular thing that helps Jeff manage living with Crohn’s disease – their allotment. She said: “There’s a lot to be said about mental health and having your hands in the soil – that’s a big one for me.
“For Jeff, it’s the health benefits of eating what we’ve grown. It’s great to share with my kids as well. Not that they love it, they hate it. But I’m working on that!”
Jeff started to become aware of his condition when he experienced stomach pain. Speaking to Express.co.uk in 2009 he revealed: “Even though I tried to avoid foods that upset my digestive system, such as coffee and Chinese takeaways, I was still sick and tired and I kept losing weight.
“I was a drama student in Manchester and sometimes I had to miss lectures because I was too tired. I even had to drop out of my final year plays.”The actor was diagnosed with the condition after being referred by his GP to a specialist at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Zoe on why she doesn’t like to work with Jeff at work
While Zoe and Jeff have starred on Emmerdale for many years, their characters rarely share scenes together. During an appearance on Lorraine Zoe candidly admitted “it’s great” not working with her husband on set.
Host Lorraine Kelly said that Zoe and Jeff “don’t have much to do with each other” on Emmerdale to which Zoe replied: “No, which is great. It just means we sort of have a separate existence at work and I think we both appreciate that and like that. The actress added: “We often do line learnings together but actually this time, what has just been amazing is taking the weight off at home.
“We have two kids, dogs and an allotment so [Jeff] is just managing that and he is about to get busy as I quieten down so we will swap the baton there.”
Zoe also said in 2017: “It’s quite funny because people think that we see each other all the time at work but it’s the complete opposite. Our characters are not friends and we don’t film many scenes together. We both really like the fact that we don’t work directly together and enjoy separate storylines.”
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX
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