Cheryl Ferguson marries her Moroccan toyboy
but he doesn't have a visa allowing him to move to the UK
22nd May 2011[/align]
EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has married her Moroccan boyfriend in secret - but she still can't move him over to Britain. Cheryl, who plays unlucky-in-love Heather Trott in the BBC1 soap, tied the knot with shop assistant Yassine Al-Jermoni, 25, near his home in Agadir, Morocco. But the 46-year-old will have to continue making regular trips to the town for the foreseeable future as Yassine still doesn't have a visa allowing him to move to Britain.
The actress has hired a solicitor to speed up the process and get her new husband, who proposed at Christmas, over to the UK as soon as possible. It is believed that the couple – who met in an internet chat room – are planning a ceremony in the UK with all Cheryl’s friends and family when he finally makes the move here. Coincidentally, her character on the soap Heather is also involved in a story involving internet dating at the moment.
The Sunday Mirror reports that Cheryl flew to Agadir last week where she was spotted wearing a silver wedding band and even visited Yassine’s family in the rundown suburb where he grew up. Cheryl and her son from a previous marriage, Alex, last week stayed with Yassine at a new lovenest she has set up in a chic neighbourhood in Agadir. Since their marriage was granted by a judge on April 28 Cheryl has split her time between Agadir and her home in Sidcup, Kent. She has taken time off from EastEnders to oversee Yassine’s visa application.
A neighbour at their Agadir apartment told the newspaper: 'Cheryl seems to have settled in well during her trips here. 'She goes out in the mornings to put the rubbish out and buy croissants from a local bakers. Yassine’s a late riser and you don’t see much of him until mid-afternoon.' Cheryl stunned friends and colleagues last year when she revealed that she was going to marry the penniless Moroccan after just a few months together. Earlier this year she told Closer magazine that she thought she’d lose her heart again after a bitter divorce three years ago.
Talking to the magazine Cheryl revealed: 'Yassine proposed in a very romantic way. On Christmas Day he made a path of tealights and rose petals leading from the hall to the bedroom. He’d written in rose petals on the sheets: "Will you marry me?" He’s my angel. I never thought I’d feel this way again but he’s made me feel like a new woman. I’m so excited, I could run down the red carpet and do a cartwheel.'
Her previous marriage to Jamshed Saddiqi broke down in 2008. But she says she is positive that this marriage will last and that she’s met the man of her dreams. In a previous interview she said: “I’ve never been so happy. I’ve found a bliss I didn’t know existed. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love until now.” Yassine said, when describing their first meeting: 'It was amazing when I first laid eyes on my beautiful Cheryl. That was the most emotional day of my life.'