A Coronation Street star has reportedly separated from her boyfriend after two years due to "difficulties" in their relationship. Katie McGlynn and former TOWIE star Ricky Rayment are said to have split up due to the stresses of a long distance romance.

The actress, who portrayed Sinead Tinker in the ITV soap lives in Manchester, while Ricky, who found fame on the ITV reality show TOWIE lives in Essex. The pair have now wiped all traces of one another from social media, which comes one year after Katie and Ricky previously sparked engagement rumours after the actress was seen with a diamond ring on her finger on Valentine's Day.

Their romance was confirmed in February last year, four months into their relationship, after the pair were seen walking hand in hand down a busy shopping street. It's understood that they first met in October 2023 while both were holidaying at the same location, the Mirror reports.

However, the pair have now seemingly called time on their romance. An insider said: "Katie and Ricky have ended their romance, they're still friends and want to remain civil but in terms of a romantic relationship, it's definitely over."

Speaking to the MailOnline, they continued: "It was difficult at times for them dating even though they lived miles apart from each other but ultimately it just wasn't meant to be."

Katie also previously squashed rumours that they were engaged during their first interview together last year.

Speaking to the Mirror and OK! Magazine, Katie insisted: "I've never thought about a proposal before; it's not something I've dreamed about like other girls. But we are very happy - the happiest - and Ricky is very romantic. I know that he would pull out all the stops."

Despite both working in tv, Ricky only first discovered Katie during her devastating Corrie storyline, which saw her character die following a battle with cervical cancer.

He said: "I thought then she was amazing. I followed her on Twitter but I never had the courage to post or message her."

At the time, though, he insisted that things wouldn't have worked out.

He explained: "We had different things going on in our lives, different career paths. But meeting on that cruise was just the most perfect timing."

Katie also reflected on their relationship, saying: "I think we preferred to be alone rather than with someone who wasn’t right - but it's definitely been worth the wait!

"It sounds cringey, but when we chatted on that cruise, I felt like I was at home. It was so comfortable. We couldn't stop laughing, and we found we had a lot of shared interests and views; we understood each other."

Speaking about how she was first quite apprehensive about Ricky, she said: "I recognised his face and just assumed he wasn't going to be my type of person - you know, Jack, the lad from Essex - and I took it for granted we wouldn't get on... happy to say I got that one wrong."

While Katie has enjoyed her career in showbiz in recent years, Ricky has maintained a much quieter profile and instead, focuses on his business ventures as the owner of Crowsheath Fishery, which he said was the "best decision of his life."