Coronation Street's Sam Aston says he was 'lucky' to marry his childhood sweetheart - after he dumped her.
The actor, who plays Chesney Brown in the ITV soap , wed yoga teacher Briony Gardner in a stunning Cheshire ceremony back in May.
But now Sam has revealed that things could have been a lot different.
Speaking to the Mirror , the 26-year-old said that he ended his relationship with his new wife when they were teenagers.
And it was only by chance that Sam and Briony were reunited years later when they both helped out at an acting school.
He told the publication: "Briony and I met when I was about 15 or 16.
"We talked through MSN messenger and then went on a date. We got together, but we were very young. I ended it – which she always likes to bring up."
The Corrie star, who has played Weatherfield's loveable Chesney for 16 years, blamed age, distance and different hobbies for the split.
Recalling their reunion, Sam said: "Three or four years later we were both helping out at the same drama workshop, Carol Godby's acting school, which is where I started as a youngster.
"I was teaching and Briony was in the room next door. I think she might have given me a funny look when I first walked in, but we soon got past that and straight away we got talking.
"Then we went for a meal that night at a country pub and that was it. We've been together ever since."
The pair married at Stock Farm just on the edge of Tatton Park in Cheshire in May and were joined by a host of Sam's co-stars, including two of his closest pals – golf buddies Alan Halsall, 36, the Street's Tyrone Dobbs, and Andrew Whyment, 38, who plays Kirk Sutherland.
Brooke Vincent, Katie McGlynn, Dolly-Rose Campbell and Jennie McAlpine, who plays his on-screen sister Fizz, were also in attendence.
Following the romantic nuptials, the newlyweds are heading to the Maldives for their honeymoon but Sam couldn't wait to get back home to Manchester.
He said: "I hate being away from home more than a week. The Maldives was absolutely gorgeous but, within a week, I was ready to come home.
"That's the person I am. I’ll get back, it'll be absolutely lashing it down with rain, and I'm like, 'Ahh, Manchester.' I love it."
