EastEnders’ Max Bowden seen slipping out of co-star Shona McGarty’s home after spending the night as pair ‘grow closer’
EASTENDERS hunk Max Bowden is pictured slipping out of Shona McGarty’s home after spending the night, as sources claim the duo are “growing closer”.
The actor, who plays Ben Mitchell in the BBC1 soap, was spotted at his co-star’s house in the early hours of Wednesday morning — just days after The Sun revealed the pair had become inseparable.
Max, 27, split from his pregnant ex-girlfriend earlier this year and is now seen “most days” at 30-year-old Shona’s property in Welwyn Garden City, Herts.
A source told the Sun on Sunday: “They spend as much time together as they can.
“Most nights or mornings Max is seen entering or leaving Shona’s home. He wears the same clothes most days.
“They have tried to keep their relationship a secret and they drive into the EastEnders set separately.
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“But anybody who sees them together can see how they feel about each other.”
On Tuesday afternoon onlookers saw Max drive his black BMW into Shona’s street and, after parking up, ducked through a wooden fence at the rear of her £650,000 home.
Hours later Shona, who plays Bianca’s step-daughter Whitney Dean, came to the garden gate to collect a takeaway meal from a delivery driver.
The following morning, Max emerged with spare clothes and an iPhone charger tucked under his arm.
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He and Shona insist they are not “officially dating” but sources claim the pair have been spotted looking “very cosy” on set.
Our source said: “They’ve tried to keep their relationship quiet. It had all the hallmarks of an EastEnders’ plotline as they tried to keep it secret. It hasn’t been the easiest of starts for them. Shona and Max were friends and now they have grown closer. But they don’t want to make a big fuss of things.”
Max’s ex-lover, insurance exec Roisin Buckle, revealed last month they were having a baby boy. The couple vowed to raise the child together, despite their split.
Shona is single after splitting from electrician fiancé Ryan Harris in January.
The source added: “Max is expecting a baby with his ex and wants to make sure their baby is brought up in a happy relationship so things have to be done sensitively.
“(Max and Shona) have been in the limelight for many years so they know how things work and how their relationship will obviously be big news to their fans, so it is no surprise that they don’t want to come out and boast about it.”
Max joined the BBC soap in 2019 after playing Kash Ryland in BBC drama Casualty and was in the Beeb’s Waterloo Road for two years as Justin Fitzgerald.
He became the sixth actor to play Phil Mitchell’s son and won Best Bad Boy at the 2019 Inside Soap Awards.
His character is now married to policeman Callum Highway, who has been at the centre of a number of big storylines including the recent hard-hitting male rape. In real life, Max split from long-term girlfriend Danielle McCarney in April 2021 — and in the same year he suffered the loss of three friends.
They spend as much time together as they can. Most nights or mornings Max is seen entering or leaving Shona’s home. He wears the same clothes most days.
A source
In September he revealed that his “ride or die” Maxwell Alexander Grey Thompson had passed away, just three months after the suicide of his best friend Luke Goodings and celebrity agent pal Terry Mills.
But he went on to find happiness with Roisin.
The pair kept their relationship out of the spotlight and only confirmed they were together last October — five months after they started dating.
They split earlier this year after revealing they were having a baby together.
A source said: “Roisin was like a rock to him after such a difficult time. It really has been tough for Max.
“They seemed really happy, they kept their relationship out of the limelight. Everyone was shocked when they split.”
Shona was engaged to electrician Ryan Harris for 18 months before their relationship fizzled out in late 2019. At the time she said: “We just grew apart. Nothing bad happened, it was all very amicable.
“As I’ve got older it’s refreshing because I no longer care what people think of me any more. I’m definitely older and wiser.” The actress, who joined EastEnders in 2008, has also dated co-star Matt Lapinskas, 33.
Matt, who played Anthony Moon, compared his relationship with Shona to “looking after a child”.
He said: “Shona had no interest in being there for me. All she was interested in was going out partying.”
They have tried to keep their relationship a secret and they drive into the EastEnders set separately. But anybody who sees them together can see how they feel about each other.
A source
The couple dated for 18 months and Matt considered marriage, but things turned sour after he left the soap.
He explained: “Things between us were fine at EastEnders. But as soon as I left the show we went through one rough patch after another.”
In December, Shona told how she is not a fan of dating apps and would prefer to “meet someone in real life”.
Just three months later she was spotted with Max at a country music festival at London’s O2 in March. They were seen cuddling up and were joined by Max’s DJ pal Matt Spracklen and country singer Twinnie-Lee Moore.
EastEnders did not comment yesterday.
A friend said: “Shona and Max have been friends for years now but they’re absolutely not in a relationship.
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“Shona has been a great support for Max over the last couple of months and has been a shoulder for him to cry on.”
The pal cryptically added: “Who knows what could happen in the future but for now they’re just good friends.”
