We're out of work - but we're still in love
After being dropped from her label, Kym's shelving her pop dreams to become an
actress.
Her husband hasn't worked for 14 months while she's been dropped by her record label.
But Kym Marsh insists their future is bright and now they want to have children together.
EXCLUSIVE
When Kym Marsh separated from her ex-EastEnders husband Jack Ryder last summer,
she was spat at in the streets and called a slut. Within days she was so ill she was having
panic attacks and having to hide her tears from her children David, nine, and Emily, six.
Six months on and the fallout continues. While her 15-month marriage to Jack is back on
track, her career's on the rocks after she was dropped by her record company Universal
last month.
'I was disappointed, but I half expected it,' admits Kym.'My image had become tarnished
by things that weren't entirely justified. When enough things are written about you,
enough people will start to believe them.'
Kym's public image took a battering when she was blamed for putting her solo career
before her marriage. After a string of rows, Jack moved out of the family home in
Hertfordshire for a five day trial separation last summer, leaving Kym to furiously deny
reports that she'd been seeing Triple 8 singer David Wilcox. They were reunited, but the
damage was done.
'It started out about us having marriage problems,' she says.'Then it became a personal
vendetta. Strangers were screaming abuse at me in the street, saying: "Go back to
Jack, you slut." Neither of us ever felt, for one second, that the marriage was over. We
were just arguing over silly little things like who left the toilet seat up. But you'd think it was
The War Of The Roses the way people were carrying on.
`The slurs made me physically sick. I had panic attacks where I'd hyperventilate, my
fingers would tingle and I'd get jelly legs. They can take over your life if you let them, so I
went to Paul McKenna who hypnotised me and showed me how to control them. I was
able to put this brave face on for the outside world and for my kids, but I'd still be crying
behind closed doors.
'My sister would ring me up in tears at all the untruths and my mother collapsed in the
hallway from all the stress. It was my lowest point'
Although Kym, 27, and Jack,22, quickly patched up their differences, the slurs stuck.
When her third solo single failed to break the top 30 Universal pulled the plug, claiming
that she no longer'connected with the public'. In other words, she wasn't popular enough.
But Wigan-born Kym refuses to believe that. `Even when my single went in at No 35, I
was still doing gigs and people loved it she says. `I have a great fanbase. I've had loads of
letters of support and some even got my dad's email address to say how upset they are.
Even though Kym an still don't have any work commitments scheduled for 2004, they
remain upbeat the future. `Technically we're both kind of unemployed she admits, `but I'm
not worried at all. When I left Hear'Say I didn't work for seven months and both Jack and I
are fine. This is only temporary for both of us.
Despite Jack not working since he left Eastenders 14 months ago, Kym insists: 'He's
doing really well. He hasn't started filming anything yet, but he's in a lot of talks with people
and has a trip planned to LA to see people'.
The most recent shots of Jack indicated he'd put on weight, but Kym says: 'He's been
working out and has changed physically and suddenly developed these shoulders from
out of nowhere. Mentally he's geared up, he's had a year of which is what he wanted and
he's now all guns blazing looking for work.
'We're going to be moving on very quickly. Things are just round the corner for us.'
For Kym that means shelving her pop star dreams to become an actress. 'First and
foremost I'll always be a singer, but I'm not looking for another record deal. Now is the
wrong time,' she says. 'I want to experience different things. I've already got a theatrical
agent and plan to do loads of auditions this year,' she enthuses. But she says there's no
way she would ever work with Jack. 'Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones might be
able to get away with it - but they're big enough,' she laughts. 'But for us to do a project
together would be naff.'
So while Jack pursues an acting career in Hollywood, Kym's hoping to juggle her time with
auditions and charity work for the British Heart Foundation after her dad recently
survived a quadruple bypass operation.
However, Kym has two young children to support and is aware that she can't afford to
return to the obscurity of where she came from if she wants to provide a comfortable
future for her family. 'I know I can't fly by the seat of my pants for too long,' she admits.
`While it'll be great experimenting with acting, I need to get job security. I don't really care
about being famous any more. But in order to put food on the table by doing what I love, I
need to be famous. Playing in small clubs won't pay the bills. With two kids to look after it'd
be irresponsible not to secure something for their future.'
The couple are keen to get that security now that they've started planning for children of
their own. `We've talked about it a lot,' grins Kym. `We discussed having kids before we
were married. We'd love a baby of our own. My 30th is looming and I can hear my
biological clock ticking. Jack's a great stepfather to David and Emily and they'd love
another brother or sister. When Emily was younger she was quite possessive and
wouldn't have liked having competition. But now she'd love me to have a baby: I don't want
there to be a big age gap, I still want the children to bond as children. I don't want David
to be 18 when I have my next child.'
Kym, who recently had her children's names tattooed in Arabic on her shoulder, says Jack
moving out of the family home was a wake-up call for all of them.
'Sometimes you're so busy and life's so full you can't see what's going on and life can
become very blinkered. Jack and I talk a lot more now and we're happier than we've ever
been.