Brooke Vincent spent much of the past decade building a family with former professional footballer Kean Bryan. Now, just as she settles back into life on a soap set, their engagement has reportedly come to an end.
The former Coronation Street actress, 34, and Bryan, 29, quietly split earlier this year after about 10 years together, according to the Daily Mail. The pair began dating in 2016, became engaged in 2022 and share sons Mexx and Monroe.
Neither Vincent nor Bryan has publicly issued a statement confirming the breakup. Reports say the separation was a difficult decision but that they are continuing to co-parent their children and trying to preserve as much normality as possible for them.
There have also been visible signs of change. Vincent has recently appeared without her engagement ring, she and Bryan no longer follow one another on Instagram.
Brooke’s Instagram Post Arrived Just Before the Split Reports
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Vincent shared a carousel looking back on August, with photographs of friends, family and her children, and wrote that the month had somehow felt like “an ending and a beginning all at once.” The Sun reported that Vincent and Bryan had already decided to call off their engagement and were concentrating on co-parenting Mexx and Monroe.
The same report said the former couple had stopped following one another on social media and that Vincent had been seen without her engagement ring. Sources described the split as a difficult decision after a decade together and said their priority was maintaining stability for their sons.
Their 2022 Engagement Included Both of Their Sons
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The relationship had appeared to be heading toward marriage four years earlier. Vincent announced their engagement in April 2022 after six years together, using a video built around drawings representing each member of the family.
The sequence showed the hands of Bryan and their sons before ending on a drawing of Vincent’s hand wearing a ring. Beside it were the words “Mrs Brooke Levi Bryan to be,” while Vincent captioned the announcement, “Coming Soon….the Bryans.”
By then, the couple had already welcomed both of their children. Mexx was born in October 2019, shortly after Vincent stepped away from Coronation Street, and Monroe followed in May 2021.
A wedding never followed the engagement. Vincent instead spent several years concentrating heavily on motherhood while Bryan’s football career continued, before his playing days ultimately ended in 2023 because of ongoing knee problems.
Vincent Has Returned to Soaps in a Major ‘Hollyoaks’ Role
Vincent’s professional life now looks very different from the years immediately after she left Weatherfield. She joined Hollyoaks in 2026 as Abigail Matthews, marking her first major soap role since leaving Sophie Webster and Coronation Street in 2019.
In a July appearance on Ireland AM, Vincent spoke about stepping away from the show she had joined as a child, becoming a mother and eventually reaching a point where returning to regular acting felt possible again.
Abigail initially entered Hollyoaks as a support worker helping teenager Dee Dee Hutchinson during treatment for drug use. The character later moved into the village and took a job at Hollyoaks High, with the soap developing a serious safeguarding storyline around her relationship with the vulnerable teenager.
The Focus Is Reportedly on Mexx and Monroe
Sources say Vincent and Bryan are both trying to protect Mexx and Monroe from disruption while adjusting to living as separated parents. That focus fits the way Vincent has spoken about the years she spent away from full-time soap work.
She has repeatedly described motherhood as the reason her priorities changed after leaving Coronation Street, including the practical difficulty of balancing regular filming with two young children.
Bryan’s circumstances have changed too. The former Manchester City academy player, who later represented Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion, retired from professional football in November 2023 after medical advice concerning a persistent knee injury.