THEY appeared to have it all, flying careers, three beautiful boys and an impressive country mansion - but out of the blue, it all came crashing down for Matthew Wolfenden.
His partner of 15 years, Charley Webb, brutally ended their marriage - and now for the first time, insiders have revealed why she decided to call it quits and move in with a star actress.
In 2023, Charley, now 37, embarked on her first stage tour.
It was a big deal, landing a part playing Diana Ingram in Quiz - her first notable role since she quit playing Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale.
And she shone on stage - Charley received rave reviews and insiders say it sparked a burning desire to take her life in a new direction.
A source close to Charley said: “It was a big turning point for her when she landed the role and took to the road.
“It was the first time in years she was fully herself again, not mum, not Debbie - but a stage actress.
“There was a lot of downtime when she was on her own, and she really had a chance to think about what she wanted from her life.”
It was a tough time for me, it was a time of big changes and then this on top of things wasn’t the best news in the world
Matthew on the split
Husband Matthew was meanwhile at their home in Yorkshire, looking after their boys Buster, 15, Bowie, eight, and Ace, four, completely unaware of what was to come.
He had just left Emmerdale and was getting ready to head to London for a stage show of his own.
Charley moved back to the family home, while Matthew headed to London to appear in Elf, where he met and fell for his current girlfriend - Heather Scott Martin, who was also working in the production.
An insider revealed: “It was incredibly hard for Matthew because people saw him with Heather and assumed he was behind the split.
“He kept a dignified silence at the time and only decided to speak out about it all much later on.
“By that time, the dust had settled and Charley had found solace elsewhere.”
And that new independent direction was supported by close pal and fellow stage and screen star Sheridan Smith.
'Out of the blue'
Matthew, 45, has since spoken openly about the break up - admitting it wasn’t his decision and he wouldn’t have gone about it in the way Charley did, revealing his concern for their boys.
He recalled: “Out of the blue, I got this news that she wanted to separate.
“It was a tough time for me, it was a time of big changes, and then this on top of things wasn’t the best news in the world. But things happen for a reason and yeah.
“It was a very very tough time, but these things happen, and I’m not the first person in the world to have separated from their partner with kids involved.
“It was the fact that the kids were quite young, and it wasn’t only a couple of years ago. That was a concern to me. We had to move onwards.”
He added on the podcast The Lewis Nicholls Show: “I didn’t expect it at all, it was a big shock. Separation is very difficult when you’ve spent 15 years together, your lives together and everything you own is together - just sorting out.”
'Huge support'
Once he returned from London, the former couple kept their house for another year before putting it on the market for £900,000 in January this year.
After Charley left Matthew in late 2023, she moved in with best pal Sheridan, finding comfort with the fellow single mum, an award-winning TV, film and stage star.
Sheridan, 44, shares a son, Billy, with her former fiancé, Jamie Horn, and recently split with her boxer boyfriend, Dave Ryan.
The pals' bond grew further last summer when they jetted off to Greece for a sun-soaked holiday.
The two even spent Christmas together, which Charley called her “favourite Christmas yet”, sharing joyful snaps of their celebrations.
Charley became a big part of Billy’s life and has supported Sheridan, who she calls ‘bae’, with childcare while she works.
A friend revealed: “Sheridan and Charley have both been huge supports for each other.
“They have been through similar things and have also bonded over their love of acting.
“They love spending time together and even got a dog together.
“Their kids are all really close now too, so it just works really well.”
We’re always going to have a relationship.
Matthew Wolfenden
Initially, things were frosty between Charley and Matthew as they tried to work out their new arrangement, but the former couple have put their differences aside and found a way forward.
Matthew explained: “Everything was a bit up in the air for the first few months, but we’re very very amicable, we’re still friends and we’ve got kids together, so you have to be.
“We had the best 15 years together, and we had three amazing kids together. But in terms of co-parenting, we decided we’d do a week on, week off.”
And for now, the situation seems to be working well - Matthew is still with his new love, Heather, Charley is landing exciting new roles, but most importantly, their children are happy.
It’s thought Charley was slightly perturbed about Matthew’s decision to air their dirty laundry, but she is happy to move on.
She recently jetted off on a girls' holiday to Bodrum, Turkey and delighted fans with a series of bikini snaps as she relished her new independence before flying home to Sheridan.
The friend added: “Matthew might have been blindsided about the split, but he has managed to work through his initial shock and concern. He feels better that people know it wasn’t his choice.
“They have really shown how to co-parent properly and are determined to keep things amicable - no matter what.”
