Both have moved on with other partners now, but Max George was once set to marry actress Michelle Keegan. Here we look at what went wrong
Max George is with former EastEnders star Maisie Smith now, who is 13 years his junior.
The pair first met when they both appeared on Strictly in 2020 and were pals first. But love blossomed when Max, 36, and Maisie, 23, did the Strictly tour together in 2022 and after a string of holidays where they reportedly ‘fell in love’, the pair moved in together. Though they certainly moved fast, as it came weeks after Max’s split from Stacey Giggs.
With The Wanted star Max describing his relationship with Maisie as ‘the best thing he’s ever done’ and Maisie saying their romance ‘feels like a movie’, it’s no surprise she’s supporting him after Max revealed the shock news he had been taken into hospital this week after ‘feeling really unwell.’ Tests found he has ‘some issues’ with his heart and may need surgery, which means he could be in hospital over Christmas.
It could also impact the couple’s planned performance as Parson Nathaniel and wife Beth in Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds ‘The Spirit of Man’ arena tour in 2025, in which they play a married couple. While Max has said he and Maisie ‘won’t be getting married yet’ themselves, he did almost walk down the aisle once a few years ago.
That was when he was famously engaged to fellow Mancunian Michelle Keegan, who was starring in Coronation Street at the time. The now 37-year-old has gone on to have a stellar acting career and marry TOWIE star turned TV and radio presenter Mark Wright. But why did her and Max call off their wedding? We take a look back…
Michelle and Max, who were then aged 24 and 23, met in 2010 and went public with their relationship in December that year. A few weeks to that, Max had confirmed their romance telling New! magazine: “Yes, we are seeing each other. She’s just beautiful. She’s an awesome girl. She’s a funny girl – and I love her accent too… it’s early days though.”
After a whirlwind romance, Max popped the question six months later in June 2011. But by January 2012, the couple had called off their star-studded wedding that was rumoured to be costing £250,000.
At the time they blamed ‘hectic work schedules’ for their split. Sources told the Mirror they had agreed to ‘slow down’ their romance after a ‘tough three or four months.’ There were also claims Max had cheated on Michelle after he was pictured kissing a blonde woman during a night out in Newcastle.
But Max said by the time the picture was taken, he and Michelle had already parted ways so he was single when the kiss happened. He has also shared how his ‘serious drinking problem’ caused major issues in their relationship and that he didn’t remember a lot of it.
Speaking to The Sun, Max explained: “I had a real problem with drinking too much and that was, without doubt, the downfall of our relationship. I was drinking more to forget the fact I was with someone who wasn’t making me that happy.”
He went on: “Michelle is seen as like Britain’s Sweetheart nowadays. I understand it might have looked as if there was something to hide, [but] there was no betrayal in terms of cheating.
“I tried to kid myself it would work out OK, but the moment she said she didn’t want to be engaged anymore, I knew that something was wrong. It was a whirlwind. I don’t regret it because you shouldn’t regret anything you do. You learn.”
Michelle went on to date former TOWIE star Mark Wright in 2013. They got engaged nine months into their romance and married two years later in a lavish ceremony that reportedly cost £1 million in 2015. Michelle has never publicly spoken about her split with Max.
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