'We went through hell but it was true love': Anita Dobson talks about meeting Brian May when he was married
Anita Dobson has spoken about how she and husband Sir Brian May ‘went through hell’ when they first met as he was already married.
The former Eastenders actress said she she and the Queen legend had "terrible row" when she realised he was married at the time they met.
Dobson, aged 75, met May, age 77, shortly after she began in EastEnders at a film preview, when May was married to his first wife, Chrissie Mullen, and the pair had three children.
The soap star, who played Angie Watts between 1985 and 1988, admitted she was saddened to find out May was already in a relationship at the time. She explained that Brian had invited her to a Queen concert at Wembley in 1986 but she "didn't know" he was married, as reported by The Express.
"I was heart-wrenched when he told me. We had a terrible row. I was insulted. I thought ‘how dare you go out with me if you're married?' So we just kept a certain distance until we could find a place in life where we could be together. But it was hard, really hard," she told the Daily Mail back in 2011.
She went on: "Everybody gets hurt, and, if there are kids, it's not good, but if people fall in love there's nothing you can do about it. Even if you separate, the ache is still there. It stops you moving on because it's unresolved.
"We went through hell, but I believe, it was true love. The dust's settled and I have good relationships with his children and ex-wife."
May and and Mullen, who had been married since 1976, separated in 1988. May and Dobson then wed in 2000 and have been married ever since. She inspired him to write the 1989 hit 'I Want It All'.
Dobson continued: "Nobody's perfect. We've all done things that we're not proud of but, unfortunately, that became public. I didn't think I'd ever come back from it. I thought ‘that's it. Over.'
"But when I walked away, I thought, 'You obviously love this man, and he loves you. You've spent your life running away from commitment. Maybe it's time you stood and figured out why.
"I just thought 'we've gone through all the c**p. It's time we had the good stuff.' So I said, 'Brian, I think I'm ready to get married.''
Dobson had been engaged four times before marrying May. He has three children from his previous marriage; James, now 46, Louisa, now 43, and Emily Ruth, now 37.