Inside real life Emmerdale couple Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley's family life

21 July 2022, 11:33

Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley have been together for 28 years
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley have been together for 28 years. Picture: Alamy/Instagram

How long have Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley been married and how many children do the Emmerdale couple have?

Emmerdale fans will know Jeff Hordley as The Dales’ bad boy Cain Dingle, while Zoe Henry plays Rhona Goskirk.

But away from the drama of their roles on the ITV soap, these two are actually happily married and have been for years.

Let’s take a look at how they met and where they got married…

Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley got married in 2003
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley got married in 2003. Picture: Alamy

How did Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley meet?

The Emmerdale stars actually went to the same drama school together way back in 1994.

Opening up about her relationship, Zoe told Leeds Live: “We got together at drama school. We've been together for 28 years.

“With the connection on set, we were together for 10 years before that as well. We got together in 1994.”

Jeff also previously said: "We met at drama school in 1994. I saw Zoe and realised she was the girl for me."

Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley met almost 30 years ago
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley met almost 30 years ago. Picture: Alamy

When did Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley get married?

Jeff proposed to Zoe on the day she won an award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Manchester Evening News's theatre awards.

The pair tied the knot in a low key ceremony back in 2003 in front of their nearest and dearest.

Despite the pair both working on Emmerdale, their characters don’t have much to do with each other.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, Zoe explained: "It just means we have a very separate existence at work and I think we both appreciate that and like that."

Emmerdale fans wonder why no one heard Cain Dingle's garage being smashed

How many children do Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley have?

The couple have two children, daughter Violet Percy, who was born in 2005, and son Stan Percy, who was born in 2008.

Whilst their children were still young, Cain and Rhona's storylines were filmed at different times so they could share childcare duties.

Speaking about sharing parenting duties, Zoe told Lorraine: "We often do line learning together.

"This time, Jeff's been amazing. He's just taking the weight of what's going on at home.

"Obviously we've got two kids, two dogs, we've got an allotment and he's just managing all of that. He's about to get busy as I sort of quieten down so we'll swap the baton then."

See the other Emmerdale stars who are together in real life