SOAP CELEBRATION EastEnders star, 51, reveals he’s engaged to girlfriend 20 years younger- a year after split from wife of 12 years
SOAP star Joseph Millson is set to tie the knot for the third time – as the dad-of-two has revealed he’s engaged to his new girlfriend Lilli Fichtner.
The actor, known for soaps such as EastEnders and Holby City, began dating actress Lilli – who is 20 years his junior – last year in a whirlwind romance.
Admitting the engagement was no less a surprise to him than it was to fans, Joseph, 51, said that he was sure he wouldn’t find love again before meeting Lilli, 32.
Sharing a selfie with his actress other half on Valentine’s Day, Joseph wrote: “Surprised by joy’ as Wordsworth would say…
“Not too long ago I was pretty certain my old heart was too bruised and bashed to ever love again. It was going to take someone pretty extraordinary to breathe life into it.
“Then I met Lilli. A woman shaped by kindness, intelligence, talent, beauty, patience, humour and humanity.
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Joseph rounded off: “So as the world spends money on commercial s***e, I actually like to think of the old martyr St Valentine himself who was busy arranging secret marriages and stuff in a scary Roman world.
“Love takes courage. Count me in.”
Sharing a selfie of her own to Instagram, Lilli seemingly confirmed that the pair have actually been engaged since Christmas.
As a friend asked in the comments whether her picture – which featured Lilli holding the engagement ring box – was taken today, she responded: “This was Christmas!”
The surprise engagement comes just over a year after Joseph divorced his wife of 12 years actress Sarah Jane Potts.
The couple, who wed in 2013 and appeared alongside each other in the BBC medical drama Holby City, announced their separation in 2024 and finalised their divorce last year.
Joseph was also previously married to fellow actress Caroline Fitzgerald from 1999 – 2011, with the pair sharing two children.
While it’s not known how long Joseph and Lilli, who hails from Germany, have been together, they began posting snaps with one another in April last year.
Like Joseph, Lilli is an actress and has starred in German drama movies.
Joseph is known for starring in EastEnders as Jason James, the fiancé of Lynne Hobbs, back in 2002.
He also appeared in James Bond flick Casino Royale, before joining Holby City as Luc Hemingway – after a cameo in the series as a different character.
