'When you know, you know - and this feels right

When actress Katie McGlynn first met reality TV star Ricky Rayment, she thought he was a "Jack-the-lad from Essex" but she's happy to admit she was wrong! And now the loved-up couple tell OK! they're the happiest they've ever been

-  SUSAN LEE

They are a couple with so much in common it feels almost inevitable they would find each other and fall in love. Yet it took the intervention of fate - and a sunshine cruise to finally bring Katie McGlynn and Ricky Rayment together.

Now, in their first joint photo shoot and interview, the pair - who started dating six months ago exclusively share the inside story of their deepening relationship. And, as our intimate pictures illustrate, Katie and Ricky are clearly loving every moment in each other's company.

"I get nervous with shoots - I'm an actor not a model - but it's been wonderful to have Ricky here. We've spent the day having fun and being silly," laughs award winning former Coronation Street favourite Katie, 30, who played Sinead Tinker in the soap for seven years.

"We'd both spent most of our adult lives being single. I think we preferred to be alone rather than with someone who wasn't right - but it's definitely been worth the wait!" explains the Rochdale-born star who also took to the Strictly floor in 2021.

Meanwhile, 33-year-old Ricky, who spent four years on our screens in The Only Way Is Essex, tells us he's thrilled to have found someone who shares his passion for outdoor life. Now running his own fishing business, Crowsheath Fishery, the reality TV star - who has previously dated Jess Wright - also reveals that although it's early days in his and Katie's relationship, a wedding could be on the cards.

OK! caught up with the couple as they put their feet up at the end of our shoot, to talk about longdistance love and why a fortune-teller may have predicted their future...

Hi, Katie and Ricky. We hear you got together while at sea? Can you tell us more about that?