Tamzin Outhwaite finds true happiness with toyboy lover 21 years her junior
EXCLUSIVE: Rather than worrying about the future, ex EastEnder Tamzin Outhwaite says her age gap relationship has done her the world of good and forced her to live in the moment
When Tamzin Outhwaite discovered her husband had been cheating on her, she was heartbroken.
But the actress says that finding love with a man 21 years her junior has done her the world of good.
Rather than worrying about her future, the age gap has forced them to live in the moment.
The former EastEnder met cameraman Tom Child, 29, in a yoga studio three years ago.
He has since moved in to the north London home Tamzin shares with daughters Flo, 12, and Marnie, eight, from her marriage to Miranda actor Tom Ellis.
And today the star admits that romance blossomed when she least expected it.
“It was meant to just be a fling,” Tamzin admits. “Then it went from being a fling to, ‘I don’t want to be away from you’.
“For one of the first times in my life I’m living in the moment and not worrying about what’s going to happen, which is lovely.
“I think the age gap forces us to do that a bit more, because there’s nothing we desperately need from each other.
“I’ve been married before and I’ve got my children, who come first, and he knows that.
“He’s not desperate for children right now, so we’re both having a lovely time.
“We’re all striving for some kind of perfection in the future, but actually, whatever we have here and now is, a lot of the time, all we need.”
Tamzin divorced Ellis in 2014 after he admitted being unfaithful. He has since found love with American screenwriter Meaghan Oppenheimer, 34.
In an Instagram post last year, Tamzin hinted that getting over her heartbreak hadn’t been easy.
But her latest romance has survived everything 2020 has thrown at it.
Despite admitting that lockdown had put a strain on them, Tamzin and Tom often work together.
He filmed and directed her in a YouTube series about six menopausal women that she called Dun Breedin’. And now the couple have embarked on another project together – a music video.
The quirky track, produced by Franz Ferdinand’s Julian Corrie, for an indie rock band called Matinee – is called Goldfish. It’s a left-field project for Tamzin, who is best known for TV programmes such as Hotel Babylon and West End shows like Sweet Charity.
She found fame in 1998 when she was cast as Mel Healy in EastEnders. She left the BBC soap in 2002 but returned in 2017 and saw her character killed off in November.
But Tamzin insists she has no regrets about leaving the programme that launched her career.
She says: “I’d agreed to go back for a year, so doing two years felt like I’d already outstayed my welcome.
“Initially, when I was told Mel was going to be killed, I was like, ‘Oh no!’ But then I realised it was actually a good way to finish the character off.
“It felt like I’d gone full circle and also, it means that I can’t be tempted back.”
Tamzin was starring in a London production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull when lockdown was announced. It is not yet known if or when the play will resume.
But, as she approaches 50, the actress admits she could always turn her hand to some Albert Square-style market trading if her acting work dries up.
Before the pandemic, she was a regular at a Sunday morning boot sale in east London and had her own stall selling bric-a-brac and old furniture. And she admits: “I don’t feel like acting is the only way I can earn a living.
“I’ve got my fingers in a few pies and will do pretty much most things to earn money.
“I love a car boot sale,” she adds. “I’m not a hoarder, but I’ve been collecting over the years. I sell anything and everything.
“I like vintage markets and I have quite a lot of furniture that I’ve bought or upcycled that I would like to sell. I used to buy and sell urban art, too.”
In true EastEnders style, Tamzin’s favourite market is right in the heart of London’s East End at Hackney Wick – but any soap fans hoping to spot her will have their work cut out.
She says: “I often wear some form of wig and try to speak in a slightly higher voice – then I don’t get recognised!”
Like most of the nation, Tamzin tried various things to keep her spirits up during lockdown. She says: “I did a bit of yoga and meditation and lots of cooking and gardening, which is quite therapeutic.
“Most of the time I feel quite proud of how we’ve got through it, even though I don’t feel we are through it.
“It’s a new way of living but it’s very difficult to keep your mental health when you can’t have your nearest and dearest close to you.”
Tamzin, who was born in Ilford, east London, turns 50 next month but the down-to-earth star is unfazed by the landmark birthday. She says: “I’ve never had that thing about lying about my age, because I always thought, ‘What’s the point?’ I didn’t understand it.
“Obviously as you get older and you’re not a kid any more, you understand that everyone wants to be younger, not older.
“But I don’t have a massive issue with it. To me, it’s just another year.”
In the coming weeks, Tamzin is due to start filming on a new, as yet unannounced BBC1 series and she also has two days’ work lined up on a feature film.
She has also been asked to take part in Strictly Come Dancing, but has so far refused. Tamzin admits: “I have thought about it. It hasn’t been the right time yet, but maybe I’m too old now!”
Instead, one of her few remaining ambitions is to star in a Shakespeare play.
It’s something the actress has never tried before so she admits it scares her.
“It’s because I don’t know it that I’m scared of it and when you’re scared of something, you think you’re going to be rubbish at it,” she confesses.
“But I would eventually like to do some one day.”
- Goldfish, the new single by Matinee, is out now via Neon Tetra Records. Watch the music video at youtu.be/NnzLnfkGf60
MirrorCeleb