Corrie's Melissa Johns' wedding heartbreak - 'My disability made me worry I'd never find love'
Coronation Street and Grantchester actress Melissa Johns said 'I Do' to Dan Hampton in a stunning ceremony at the 14th-century Brinsop Court Manor House and Barn last month and she's still on Cloud 9. In our exclusive catch up, the 34 year old tells OK! she "didn’t expect to feel such an unbelievable change in myself and my relationship" after the nuptials, and explains the heartbreaking reason she never expected to walk down the aisle.
Melissa, 34, was born missing half of her right arm and says her disability made the occasion even more special. “Because of having one arm and looking very different to other people growing up, when I was young, I wasn’t necessarily sure getting married was something that would happen for me,” she said.
“People do comment on it and question whether you’ll find love or get married" she said, "simply because of the way you look or because you’re disabled. So, because of the way I grew up, our special day meant a million times more to me.”
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Melissa and her transport planning consultant husband, who got engaged when 36-year-old Dan proposed in June 2023, were enjoying a mini-moon in Sicily, Italy, when we caught up with her - and she reveals they have Emmerdale ’s Laura Norton and her fiancé Mark Jordon to thank for the trip.
“Mark and Laura have been holding the Cure Usher Ball, which raises money for research into Usher syndrome, for the last few years," Melissa explained. "Last year, Dan and I won this trip to Sicily in the silent auction — so cheers for that, both!”
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After Sicily, Melissa said she was heading straight back to Grantchester as her character Miss Jennifer Scott, a police secretary. But with plans to take a longer honeymoon in Saint Lucia later in the year, she's more than happy to be back on set.
“I got a week off from filming, and then I’m back,” she revealed. “But I absolutely love it. Grantchester is one of the most wonderful period dramas to be a part of. I’m also continuing to develop my one-woman show, Snatched, which toured the UK a couple of years ago. We’re now adapting that for television, which is exciting. Getting to do the job I do is just an absolute dream.”
With a hugely successful acting career and now a marriage under her belt, Melissa says she's truly loving her thirties now, and thinks she was destined to meet Dan when she did. “When you get older, you really don’t hold back. There’s no gameplaying — it’s just genuine because you’re confident in who you are. Maybe I wasn’t as confident in who I was in my twenties, so actually, meeting him now was the way it was always meant to be.”
