Coronation Street's Katie McGlynn opens up about 'weird and wonderful' way reality star romance was sparked

Former Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn has opened up about her new romance for the first time after falling for a former reality star. The actress confirmed she was dating Ricky Rayment, who starred in The Only Way is Essex, back in February.

Katie, who is probably best known for playing Sinead Osbourne - nee Tinker - in the ITV soap, shared a series of romantic photos with Ricky, 33, marking Valentine's Day with a heartfelt caption.

The 30-year-old penned: "Every day is like Valentine's Day with you." The joint post, which was also shared on Ricky's account, showed the couple sharing a number of affectionate moments, including a sweet kiss before being seen all cosy in a swimming pool.

READ MORE: Gemma Atkinson flooded with same message as she says 'until next time' alongside Gorka Marquez

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link

Now, the new couple have taken part in their first photoshoot and interview with OK! Magazine and sharing some of the gorgeous shots on Instagram, Katie said: "The universe works in weird and wonderful ways."

And her celebrity pals and fans were quick to respond. Former Hollyoaks star Jazz Franks said: "I can’t cope with how gorgeous this shoot is!" while Chelsee Healey posted: "Love this for you." Corrie's Lisa George replied: "Gorgeous!!!" Married at First Sight UK's Jay Howard shared: "Love this!" Actress Victoria Ekanoye added: "You guys! Made up for ya babe."

Revealing all about how their relationship began, Katie admitted that she had no idea that when she agreed to a job on a cruise ship she'd fall in love. Just minutes after arriving on the ship she saw Ricky and while it wasn’t exactly love at first sight, romance soon began to blossom.

“I’d never really been interested in cruising but I decided to travel with a friend and incorporate it into a bit of a break as well – it was a last minute decision to go," Katie recalled to OK! "When I arrived on the ship I’d been travelling for 12 hours, was shattered and pretty sweaty. And then Ricky rocked up looking rather handsome!"

Ricky, 33, who spent four years on our screens in The Only Way Is Essex, was also booked to work on the ship. "I saw Katie on board and thought, ‘Wow’,” he said while Katie’s first thoughts weren’t quite so generous. "I thought he was very good-looking but to be honest I did judge him a bit prematurely," she admitted.

"I recognised his face and just assumed he wasn’t going to be my type of person – you know, Jack the lad from Essex – and I took it for granted we wouldn’t get on. I’m happy to say I got that one wrong! I decided I probably wasn’t going to get on with him, wouldn’t talk to him, and anyway, I was there with a friend and wasn’t interested in boys, so off I went to have a shower.”

Fate, however, had other ideas and at a work dinner on board the pair were seated opposite each other and sparks began to fly. "When I finally started to talk to him we just clicked," Karie said. "It sounds cringey, but when we chatted, I felt like I was at home. It was so comfortable. We couldn’t stop laughing and we found we had a lot of shared interests and views, we understood each other.