The actress celebrated spending time with her partner Al
Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley declared love for her partner as she celebrated a “Me and You” day with him on Tuesday (March 18).
The 48-year-old star is best known for her long-standing role as Mandy Dingle on Emmerdale. Lisa first appeared on the ITV show in 1995, where her character Mandy is currently married to Paddy Dingle after the pair faced a lot of ups and downs in their relationship – including a cheating scandal.
Mandy had a close shave recently as she swapped places with Liam last minute in the limo so that he could propose to Chas. Instead of being in the limo that crashed into the frozen lake, she instead escaped icy peril.
Lisa has been engaged to her partner Al for a few years now, but in 2023 she shared: “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it… We’re very happy as we are and while I love wearing the beautiful ring Al gave me, I’ve never been the kind of girl who longs for a big, flouncy day with a horse and carriage.
“That kind of thing gives me the ick, to be honest. I’m never going to change my name, so really, what would be the difference? We call each other husband and wife, and have been together for nine years.”
The actress sadly lost her mum in 2012 to cancer, and she added: “I don’t think I could cope with a wedding day without my mum.”
Taking to her Instagram, Lisa posted an adorable snap of the couple and wrote: “Love you…..not for any other reason, only that……happy Me & You Day…. Lisa & Al 2025!!!”
Earlier this year, Lisa appeared on Monday Mile podcast which is hosted by former team GB double winter Olympian and author Aimee Fuller that looks at the secrets behind self-motivation.
She revealed: “Me and Al we aren’t so lucky because I can’t get pregnant. We tried IVF it didn’t work, and he loved me enough to go ‘whatever they’re pumping you with, they’re taking Lisa away from me’.”
Speaking of her decision to stop IVF, Lisa admitted to questioning whether she actually wanted to be pregnant, or whether it was “okay to not have children” as “a woman of a certain age”.
She said: “The hormones and everything you go through and then the anguish of that turmoil of do I really want to be pregnant? It was a time of my life where I thought ‘no’ because I’d met the one, and it just felt completely right. It didn’t work [having kids] but it’s okay.”
Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
