Wedding bells are set to ring out across Albert Square once again, as a beloved couple decided to tie the knot.
I am, of course, referring to Patrick and Yolande Trueman (Rudolph Walker and Angela Wynter), who recently won the British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership.
What a way to cap off the celebrations!
Throughout this week’s episodes of the soap, we’ve seen the couple struggle with intimacy in the wake of a horrific incident.
What happened to Yolande in EastEnders?
Some of the serial’s most harrowing scenes ever aired last year, when church-leader Pastor Clayton (Howard Saddler) sexually assaulted Yolande in a store room at the community centre.
She bravely spoke up about her ordeal to friend Elaine Knight (Harriet Thorpe), and then found the courage to report his crime to the police.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of evidence, there was little that they could do.
However, soon after, a second survivor of his abuse came forward, with the CPS charging him with two counts of sexual assault.
Their bravery was noted by a third woman, who also came forward, prompting Clayton to barge his way into Yolande’s house in an attempt to get her to drop the charges.
Later that night, the police arrived and she assumed he’d spread more vicious lies about her. They were actually there to reveal that Clayton had taken his own life.
Since then, Yolande has tried to rebuild her life and reconnect with her Christian faith – something which she abandoned following the sexual assault.
What happened between Patrick and Yolande?
Earlier this week, Yolande went to run herself a bath and asked her life partner to give her a massage afterwards.
Things turned frosty when he refused to touch her, later admitting that he didn’t want her to draw any comparisons to her abuser.
She was furious that he’d taken it upon himself to decide to eradicate their sex life based upon something that happened to her, and they seemed to reach the end of the road.
However, after some words of wisdom from Denise Fox (Diane Parish), the pair reconciled.
