Wednesday night’s episode of EastEnders was one for the history books, as Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) became the first lesbian couple ever to tie the knot in the BBC soap.
During the first episode of the year that will see the London-based soap celebrate 40 years on our screens, Suki and Eve were finally able to call themselves wives – and what a journey they’ve been on up to this point.
Their love story began in 2022 when the women went from enemies to lovers over several months, but their budding romance was brought to an abrupt end when Suki’s husband Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) was released from prison.
However, it soon became clear to both of them that they wouldn’t be able to live without each other, so Suki and Eve picked up where they left off, secretly seeing each other without Nish knowing.
As their relationship went on, they faced plenty of obstacles, with Suki’s marriage to abusive Nish casting a dark shadow over both of their lives.
Over a year after their first kiss, Suki found the courage to leave Nish for Eve, having reached a point in her journey where she was able to accept her sexuality and be proud of who she really was.
Unfortunately, Nish was determined to keep Suki in his control, and continued to make his presence felt even after they had come to an agreement over their divorce.
Suki thought Nish was finally out of their lives when he took the blame for Keanu Taylor’s murder and was sent to prison, and dived head first into wedding planning with Eve.
However, recent scenes saw her discover that he had escaped custody and had been seen near Albert Square, very nearly causing her to call off the wedding.
Fortunately, a pep-talk with Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) encouraged her to go ahead with it, and tonight’s episode saw the women finally tie the knot.
In a stunning ceremony that incorporated aspects of both Suki and Eve’s cultures, the women delivered their vows to one another in emotional scenes.
While Eve commended Suki’s courage and strength, Suki revealed that Eve had given her something to fight for.
As they were pronounced married, the congregation was elated – but things soon took a horrifying turn.
After the joyous ceremony, Nish finally managed to get to the couple and enact his cruel plan.
When Eve drank from a poisoned glass of champagne, she collapsed to the floor, before Nish informed Suki that he planned for them both to follow in Eve’s footsteps.
As Suki made a run for it to the balcony, she found herself unable to get away, and soon she was caught up in a face-off between Nish and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
When Ravi lashed out and pushed Nish over the edge of the balcony, he had no idea that he was holding onto Suki’s dress, and she ended up on theground with him.
Having made history as the first lesbian couple to marry on the show, will Suki and Eve survive Nish’s revenge and get to enjoy a long life as wives – or has this opportunity been cruelly ripped away?
