AFTER A TOUGH TIME FOR FAYE BROOKES, THE Coronation Street STAR ENJOYS A GETAWAY TO DUBAI WITH HER FIANCÉ GARETH GATES
AS THEY ENJOY ROMANTIC GETAWAY TO DUBAI, FAYE BROOKES AND GARETH GATES TALK TO ok!’s LAURA HILLS ABOUT THEIR WEDDING PLANS, STARTING A FAMILY AND HOW THEY’RE STRONGER THAN EVER
The last time we caught up with Gareth Gates and Faye Brookes they were celebrating their engagement and a lot has happened since they exclusively announced the news in OK! earlier this year.
The couple, who got engaged on New Year’s Eve during a trip to New York City, recently jetted to Dubai for some muchneeded rest and relaxation after a busy and emotional time for
Coronation Street actress Faye.
Corrie fans were recently left heartbroken after watching Faye’s character Kate Connor say goodbye to her fiancée Rana Habeeb, played by Bhavna Limbachia, as she was tragically killed on their wedding day.
‘Rana’s death was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to film and emotionally I ran myself into the ground with it,’ Faye, 31, reveals
as she soaks up the sun next to the pool of the five-star Palazzo Versace Hotel.
And no one could be more proud of the work she’s done recently than 34-year-old Gareth. In fact, the singer was so proud of her that he accidentally revealed Rana was going to die on social media before it had been shown on TV! ‘It was a complete accident. We were out having some drinks when it aired and I lost track of time and thought it had already played out on screen. I felt terrible!’ Gareth, who is dad to nine-year-old daughter Missy, admits.
Despite their busy schedules, the couple are working hard to get their wedding plans in place and tell us they’ll be tying the knot ‘somewhere hot’ next year – with Gareth admitting his fiancée is taking the lead when it comes to planning!
And after a turbulent 2018, which saw them split for two months, the couple say they’re now stronger than ever before.
As they make the most of some quality time together in Dubai, the couple fill us in on their wedding plans and Faye opens up about the emotional toll her recent storyline has taken on her…
After a busy few months on Corrie it must be nice to have a bit of time to relax, Faye…
It has been! We’ve been having a great time in Dubai. It’s lovely to soak up the sun and spend some quality time together. I’ve spent the last few months working on really emotional scenes and it’s really taken a toll on me. Everyone at work knew how much of a strain it was having
on me and could see I needed some time off. I was absolutely exhausted.
In what way has it taken a toll on you?
Rana’s death was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to film and emotionally I ran myself into the ground with it. Bhavna and I know how much Rana and Kate mean to the audience and we owed it to them to make those final scenes as truthful and emotional as possible. I felt like I owed it to the LGBT+ community to give them something they’d remember, too.
Gareth, you got in trouble with Corrie fans for giving away Rana’s death before the episode ended…
It was a complete accident. We were out having some drinks when it aired and I lost track of time and thought it had already played out on screen. I felt terrible!
Faye: It was an innocent mistake and he felt really bad. I know fans were upset but he was proud of me and wanted to share that with his followers. Most viewers knew Rana was going to die so he didn’t really give away the ending. I wasn’t angry with him and nor were ITV.
You reposted lots of lovely fan comments after the series had aired…
I was proud of the response we got and I wanted to applaud everyone; myself, Bhavna, the cast and crew for what we had done. I also wanted to thank the fans by reposting what they were saying. I know some people said I was showing off but I really wasn’t.
Did you draw on anything in particular to make the emotion on screen genuine?
I spent a lot of time thinking about how unfair it was that they were torn apart after working so hard for their relationship. I also thought about how it would feel if anything happened to Gareth and how much that would devastate me. Gareth is my best friend, I don’t know how I’d cope if anything happened to him. Just
before we filmed the last scene, Bhavna read me Rana’s wedding vows, which made me bawl my eyes out so the tears you saw on screen were real.
Gareth: I’m very proud of Faye and the work she’s done. She’s a great actress but to see her drawing upon real emotion like that was really incredible to see.
Was it hard to switch off when you got home?
I was going home every night and saying to Gareth: ‘I don’t ever want anything to happen to you. I can’t live without you.’ I slept like a baby once we’d finished those scenes because I was exhausted. Gareth was an amazing distraction though, he reminded me that it’s just a job and I can leave it at the door. He makes me belly laugh every single day and distracts me when I’m feeling stressed out. I sleep better knowing that he has my back.
How did you feel when Bhavna told you she wanted to leave, Faye?
I saw her on set and she looked really sad. She said: ‘I need to tell you something’ and my stomach flipped.
I was gutted to hear she wanted to leave but I support her decision completely. She was really scared about telling me because we’re both so invested in the characters, she said it felt like she was breaking up with me! I’ll miss her but we’re the best of friends and I’ve already seen her a couple of times since she left.
Bhavna has said it was her decision for Rana to die, did you think it was the right choice? Yes, because there’s no way she would ever have left without Kate. Death was the only realistic way for Bhavna to leave because I’m not going anywhere. I love my job and feel like I’ve only just begun to sink my teeth into Kate.
Kym Marsh recently announced she’s leaving too, are you sad to see her go?
Kym wants to dip her toes into different projects and after 13 years on the show who can blame her? I’m good friends with Kym so I’m 100 per cent behind her decision. I hope she’ll be back at some point in the future though.
What have you been getting up to in Dubai? Faye: Dubai is all about the amazing restaurants and bars so we’ve been taking full advantage of that. We also went to the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and saw the dancing fountains. It took my breath away! Gareth: I’ve been to Dubai a few times over the years and have always wanted to bring my beautiful lady to see it. We’re both so busy and it can be a nightmare to sync our diaries so we rarely get a chance to go on holiday. Faye is always busy with work and I’m currently booked up to perform on P&O Cruise Britannia every other week until the end of the year so this trip is all about making the most of some quality time together.
Faye: We never get the chance to lay by a pool and switch off completely so it’s been nice having the chance to do that. We’ve been getting treatments at the hotel’s amazing spa, too. When we arrived, the hotel had organised for champagne and a ‘congratulations’ cake to be waiting in our room to celebrate our engagement, which was so sweet of them.
You’re staying at the Palazzo Versace Hotel, what’s it like?
Faye: We were blown away when we arrived, it’s so luxurious. I feel very lucky to stay here for my first time in Dubai.
Gareth: The attention to detail is incredible, everything here is really over the top but in the best possible way. Everything is Versace
from the chairs to the glasses and even the tissues, which I love because I’m a big fan of fashion. Missy turned ten last week, so I hit the shopping mall and got her a present. She sent me away with a list of things she wants, including some Apple Airpods! It’s hard to believe she’s double figures, it makes me feel so old!
Do you speak to Missy while you’re on holiday?
Gareth: It’s hard with the time difference. I miss her a lot when I’m not with her so I try and speak to her as much as I can when we’re not together.
You’re both fitness fanatics. Do you still work out on holiday?
Faye: Exercising is a part of our daily routine so we still work out every day. When we go on holiday we like to eat and drink whatever
we want so exercising makes us feel less guilty. We haven’t drunk any alcohol on this trip, though, as we’ve both been so run down.
Gareth: Being on holiday is the only time we ever relax our diets. I’m naturally very skinny so I try to eat as much food as I can to bulk up, but I eat as clean as possible. I have to eat a lot of protein and carbs and I rarely eat sugars or fats.
Faye: My diet is completely different to Gareth’s. I know that if I eat too many carbs I’ll gain weight so I try to avoid them. But I eat a lot of fish and eggs.
What sort of workouts do you do? Gareth: We love to go to the gym together but we tend to do our own thing. Faye likes to focus more on cardio whereas I like to lift heavy weights.
Faye: Gareth can lift weights twice as heavy as me! We’re always swapping workout tips and love going to the gym together, it’s inspired us to think about doing a joint fitness related project. We might launch a
Youtube channel or a fitness focused Instagram account. The more time we can spend together the better, so working on a project seems like a natural move for us. We’d also love to do some presenting together one day.
Gareth: Watch out Holly and
Phil [laughs]!
Why is exercising such an important part of your lives?
Faye: For me, exercise is as much about the mind as it is the body. The gym is my therapy. Neither of us are personal trainers but we’ve transformed our bodies with exercise. People are always saying that Gareth has gone from a boy to a man. We think people would be interested to hear about the things we’ve learnt about living a healthy lifestyle while juggling busy careers.
Tell us about your ‘G’ tattoo on your ribs, Faye…
I got it last year and it stands for Gareth. I’ve always wanted to have his initial somewhere on my body, it represents that we’re together forever! I decided to get it on my ribs as it’s the closest place to my heart. Gareth was with me when I got it done, he held my hand as it was extremely painful!
Did you get it before or after your split?
Before the split, but I never regretted getting it. Gareth means the absolute world to me so I’m really proud to have his initial on me. It was unbelievably painful though!
Gareth, are you considering getting a tattoo for Faye?
I’ve never really liked tattoos but I love Faye’s. I’ve always said I’d never get a tattoo but I’m tempted by an ‘F’.
How are the wedding plans coming? Gareth: We still haven’t set a date but it’s hopefully going to be next year. We’re currently working out where we’re going to have it and who we’re going to invite. Let’s just say that Faye is the one wearing the trousers when it comes to planning [laughs]!
Faye: I’ve got lots of ideas and so far Gareth is letting me run with them. We’re basically the same person and have the same tastes so he trusts me to take the lead. I’ve been dreaming of my wedding day since I was a little girl but the day is about both of us. We’ve been through so much as a couple and we’ve come out of it stronger than ever. We’re a team and our wedding day is about the next chapter of our lives together. We’re definitely going to get married abroad somewhere hot. We love the idea of it being very intimate, so we’re only going to invite 30 people.
Would you like to start a family after the wedding?
Faye: That’s really important to both of us, so once we’re married that will definitely be something we start thinking about. We also want to buy a house together. Next year is going to be all about us and our wedding and after that we’ll start planning our future.
Do you think that your wedding dress will be similar to the one Kate wore on Corrie?
No. I’m nothing like Kate so our styles are completely different. My wedding dress will be nothing like hers. The wedding is going to be the biggest day of our lives so I’m going to go big with my dress and every other detail of the day. I’ll only get married once and I want it to be huge.
‘we’ve been through so much as a couple’