Emily Atack married Dr Alistair Garner over the weekend, tying the knot in the UK in front of close family and friends ahead of a second wedding celebration in Spain next month.
The actress, 36, best known for playing Charlotte "Big Jugs" Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners, confirmed the news on Instagram on Sunday, writing that the couple "officially got married among close family and friends" and that it was "absolutely perfect." She added: "I can't believe we get to do all that again in a few weeks time. Christ, we have fun don't we @dralistairgarner."
Atack wore a £2,325 Josephine Scott gown with long lace-cuffed sleeves and a plunging pleat neckline as she walked down the aisle. The marriage caps a long and, by her own admission, rocky search for love that took in a string of high-profile boyfriends before she found happiness with Garner, someone she has known since childhood.
A brief fling with Harry Styles
Atack's first known romance was with Harry Styles, the former One Direction singer. She waited a year before confirming the relationship, telling Reveal magazine in 2013: "I think that's the first time I've ever admitted to what it was, because I've always just shrugged it off before. But I think it's best to clear it up. So, yeah, we had a short-lived thing that was just a bit of fun. Then we went off in our opposite directions."
She said the pair had "a laugh" together in 2012 but had never called each other boyfriend and girlfriend, and that Styles had not been in touch since. "Harry and I had a laugh. It was brief, but fun, and then we moved on. We haven't spoken in a while - he's one of the most famous people in the world now," she said.
Her longest relationship followed: five years with model Jack Vacher, which ended in 2018. Months later, Atack appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, finishing second behind winner Harry Redknapp. She told fellow contestant Noel Edmonds in camp that she had gone through a break-up: "Five years I was with somebody. I got into a habit of thinking I needed that security. That I needed that love and acceptance from a guy to make me happy. For me this has been very daunting."
Seann Walsh and a secret romance
It has been reported that Atack and Vacher took a break during their relationship after she fell for comedian Seann Walsh in 2016, having clicked with him at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Walsh, 40, was dating Rebecca Humphries at the time; sources said he had been "extremely evasive" about his relationships and that Atack believed he was single.
An intimate photograph of the pair in bed together later surfaced online. A source told the Sun: "Emily is mortified that this picture has appeared. She had wanted to put the whole dalliance behind her and is keen to forget about it. At the time, she and Seann were totally wrapped up in each other. But she's over it now." Atack reportedly told friends she was "in love with Seann," having first met him on the E4 show Virtually Famous in 2014 before reconnecting in Edinburgh. "That is where they properly clicked," a source told the Sun. "She liked the fact that he was a little bit older and more experienced than her, so seemed like a man of the world."
Rob Jowers, Charlie Edwards and Jude Taylor
In 2019 Atack began a six-month relationship with producer Rob Jowers, whom she met at Jack Whitehall's BRIT Awards after-party. "I don't remember meeting him as I was so drunk. I went up to him and said, 'Who are you?' and he said, 'Who are YOU?' He got me a drink and we've been together ever since!" she told Loose Women, adding that Jowers had put her to bed "like a gentleman" the night they met.
Sources told the Sun the relationship fizzled after its "honeymoon phase" ended, describing the split as mutual: "When the dust settled they realised it just wasn't right... they are both really sad about it and remain friends."
In October 2021 Atack began dating tattoo artist and model Charlie Edwards, reportedly after he messaged her on Instagram. The relationship lasted three months, ending amid a hectic work schedule and Covid-19 restrictions that made it difficult for the pair to see each other. They stayed close friends afterwards.
Edwards was found dead inside a tattoo studio in March this year; his cause of death remains officially undetermined pending further coroner proceedings. Atack paid tribute to him at the time: "This is devastating to write. Charlie you were my friend. You were ALWAYS there for me. You dropped everything so many times to come and be with me... Beautiful boy, beautiful soul. I'm so so sorry. Rest in peace Charlie."
Atack went on to date model Jude Taylor, splitting in 2021 after five months because of her work commitments. A friend said: "Emily and Jude were a great match and had a lot of fun, but it ended up being too tricky to make it work long term... Emily has so much going on at the moment too and that made their relationship a little more difficult."
That same year, Atack was rumoured to have had a secret six-week fling with footballer Jack Grealish while he was still dating Sasha Attwood, though both denied the reports.
Giovanni Pernice and Liam McGough
In 2022, Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice was said to have set his sights on Atack. The pair were reported to have shared a "steamy smooch" at a BRITs party, though it is not believed they dated.
An onlooker told the Sun: "Gio and Emily were snogging the faces off each other. Their hands were everywhere and they were absolutely loving it." A separate partygoer told the Daily Mail that Pernice "made a beeline for her and was very persistent," holding her hands and waist and caressing her face before the pair stepped out for a cigarette.
Atack then had a seven-month relationship with tree surgeon and reality star Liam McGough in 2022, which ended when the pair decided they were "better off as friends." McGough finished third on the 2007 series of Big Brother, behind winner Brian Belo. The two have remained on good terms.
Following the split, Atack spoke candidly about loneliness on her podcast, Soaking Up Life With...: "People think I fly the flag for all the single ladies, but I'm not afraid to admit being on your own is actually miserable a lot of the time. It's pretty hard... there are times when I cry myself to sleep because it's lonely and awful, and it's OK to admit that, I think." She continued: "Where I go wrong in life is that I'm known as confident, sexy and all those things, and that's all great. And then the second that I'm in love, I'm absolutely pathetic... I have mountains and buckets of confidence but no self-esteem."
Finding Alistair Garner
In 2023, Atack began dating Dr Alistair Garner, someone she had grown up alongside. The pair are step-cousins: Atack's mother is the sister of Garner's stepmother, Jane Garner, meaning they are not blood relatives. They were introduced after Atack's aunt began dating Garner's father, Stephen Garner, in the early 1990s; the couple married in 1994.
It was not until 2023 that romantic feelings developed between them. Atack's family, including her mother, Kate Robbins, who calls Garner her "nephew," were said to be thrilled. In her 2019 autobiography, Are We There Yet?, Atack wrote that her cousins "understand each other on a deep level," describing them as "my solid foundations that everything else is built upon."
In June 2024 the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Barney. Atack has said they discovered the pregnancy during their first holiday together, in Italy, calling it "the most perfect day" of her life. The couple bought a property together, and their son was born the day after they finished unpacking.
Engagement and wedding
Atack has spoken warmly of Garner's support for her career, saying he cuts out articles about her from newspapers and magazines. "I know Al will look after me and Barney. I know he will be the best father and the best husband eventually. I am happier than I ever thought I could be," she said.
Speaking to HELLO! magazine, Atack said she felt like she had "won the lottery" with Barney and could not have gone through the birth with anyone but Garner. "It was a very difficult birth and after 12 hours of labour, I ended up having an emergency caesarean, but he was so calm," she said, describing Garner as her "literal rock."
The couple got engaged in July last year. They married on Saturday in the UK, with a further celebration planned in Spain next month.
