EastEnders star Davood Ghadami has opened up over his recent divorce and his new relationship, explaining that he feels he needs to “clarify a few things”.
The actor, who played Kush Kazemi on the soap from 2014-2021, posted a statement on Instagram in which he responded to tabloid reports about his relationship status.
“A newspaper chose to run a front page story about me yesterday. A surprise choice considering everything happening in our world,” he wrote.
He went on to say that he and his wife Isobel “separated in 2023”, and that he began a relationship with singer Melanie Barker the following year, after the pair first met while appearing in the pantomime Aladdin together over Christmas 2022.
“In 2024, my relationship with Mel began and we remain together and happy. There is life after separation and divorce,” he wrote. “Unfortunately for the newspaper, there isn’t really a story here at all.”
His post followed a report in The Sun about Davood’s relationship with Melanie, which claimed that they had “sizzling on-stage chemistry” while playing Abanazar and Princess Jasmine respectively in Aladdin in Aylesbury.
Davood and Melanie, who appeared on The X Factor in 2014, have previously shared photos and videos together on Instagram, including a reel of themselves enjoying a break away in York.
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Davood, who has also starred in Holby City and Strictly Come Dancing, recently appeared on his former EastEnders co-star Lacey Turner’s podcast, We Started Here, to discuss his role as Kush.
He previously revealed that he has remained close with Lacey after leaving EastEnders, calling her “a good friend”, and he was also full of praise for Denise Fox star Diane Parish, saying: “One of my only regrets about EastEnders is that I didn’t have more scenes with Diane. She’s amazing.”
