Martine McCutcheon was on the verge of global superstardom before a decade of death and bankruptcy ended with her husband abandoning her

JUST a few days ago, Martine McCutcheon posted a heartwarming message to her “Darling Jack,” declaring, “I love you unconditionally and I wish I could make it all better.”

While more than 16,400 fans on Instagram liked the long and detailed message of support, her husband was not among them.

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And on Thursday, the actress was forced to publicly declare that Jack McManus, 40, had “decided” to end their troubled 12-year marriage, adding: “I accept his decision.”

The split is yet another setback for 48-year-old Martine, who has had a lot of bad luck since her marriage to the songwriter and father of their nine-year-old son Rafferty.

The world was at her feet before they met, after she won the national title. hearts played the lost single mother Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders for four years.

After leaving the BBC One soap, she had a Number One hit with This Is My Moment in 1999 and her portrayal of Eliza Doolittle in a West End production of My Fair Lady won her an Olivier Award in 2002.

And she would become the star of Tinseltown after playing Natalie, the Downing Street tea lady who caught the attention of the Prime Minister in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually, starring Hugh Grant as the lovestruck PM.

Agents arranged meetings with Hollywood film producers, but she never reached the top.

Instead, she has spent the past 15 years battling chronic illness, heartbreaking miscarriages, family tragedies and bankruptcy, while her acting work dried up and her record label dropped her.

‘There’s a horse’s head in our bed’

Jack and Martine first met at a live music event in London. She once said: “We saw each other and that was it.

“When we met, something very wonderful happened.

“I thought I would shout it from the rooftops when I met The One, because that’s the kind of person I am. But it was like a quiet contentment.

“It was so calm and warm, and I felt, for once, that I didn’t have to show off. I think he felt the same.”

Martine also stressed that the eight-year age gap between them was not a problem, revealing: “All the women in my family have dated or married younger men.

“We are all very lively and have a great zest for life.

“I usually forget the age difference.

“I’m the one saying, ‘Yeah, let’s do this, let’s do that,’ and Jack is the one holding me back and saying, ‘It’s time to go home.’”

In 2012, five years after they met, they married in a glittering wedding on the shores of Lake Como in Italy — but even that was not without drama.

Jack later revealed that the happy couple had incurred “hidden costs” and had to pay “thousands” to the mafia to set off fireworks on the lake.

When the gangsters discovered that they had sold the rights to the photos of the big day to a magazine, they demanded more money, which Jack refused to pay, leaving Martine in fear for her life.

She said: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, there’s going to be a dead horse’s head in our bed!’ I was terrified.”

“I said something like, ‘Don’t stand there now, Jack. Please be quiet.’ But he didn’t want to donate anymore.”

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The actress already suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as ME, a condition that causes extreme tiredness that cannot be relieved by sleep.

In 2011, she was diagnosed with ME. She had previously suffered from Lyme disease, which can cause fever, and fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes pain throughout the body.

Within a year of their big day, the couple also faced serious financial problems.

Although once worth £2million, Martine had been dumped by her record label and was on the brink of bankruptcy.

To pay off her mounting debts, she was forced to sell the £25,000 engagement ring Jack gave her when he proposed.

She said, “I just thought my health, moneycareer have all been taken from me, and now even my engagement ring — the only thing that represents what is solid in my life — is gone.”

And Martine, desperate for a baby, struggled to conceive, while the early years of their marriage were rocked by a series of “horrific” miscarriages.

Medical experts warned that she might never become a mother.

Martine said: “The best doctors were absolutely wonderful but said, ‘You can’t have children. Your immune system and disease thinks it has to fight everything and that includes, unfortunately, babies. So we have no idea how you were able to keep Rafferty.’

“To this day they don’t know how I got it.”

Shortly after her son was born, Martine revealed that she wanted to try for another baby right away. She joked, “Then maybe Jack and I can go at it like cat and dog!”

Unfortunately, a second child was not to be had, and last year there was even more sadness for Martine.

She was devastated when her younger brother Laurence, better known as LJ, died suddenly at the age of 31, just weeks before she was to be a bridesmaid at his wedding.

In a tribute she posted on social media, Martine said there was “no medical explanation” for his death, adding: “My heart is forever broken.”

‘My friends have made me repent’

It was yet another tragedy that struck the family.

Martine’s mother Jenny Tomlin was physically and sexually abused by her father, Ronald Ponting, from the age of four.

In her memoir Behind Closed Doors, Jenny also describes how Ronald beat her mother Lilian and abused her sister Kim.

Martine’s father Thomas Hemmings was also a violent drunk who ended up behind bars.

“He wasn’t interested in Martine,” Jenny wrote.

“Luckily I was able to get away from him as quickly as possible.

“I really enjoyed it. Martine and I had to move all the time.”

The actress has also spoken about periods of crippling anxiety and struggles with her weight.

Martine has lost 23 kilos and three dress sizes in recent years thanks to the strict Cambridge Weight Plan diet.

She explained: “Eighty percent of the week I eat mainly healthy proteins, vegetables and fruit, and twenty percent of the time I have something tasty, like a slice of pizza or a gin and tonic.”

After the shocking announcement of the split, Jack stayed home with his mother.

Martine put on a brave face in Marbella, Spain, after taking Rafferty on a ‘much-needed’ holiday.

The final decision to separate, which she laid before him, appears to have been prompted by the recent death of Jack’s father Mick.

But while his loss may have been the final catalyst, the cracks had been visible for months.

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The couple quietly put their £1.5million Surrey mansion up for sale in May and have been living apart ever since.

She hasn’t appeared on her husband’s Instagram account since September last year, when Jack posted a photo of them in costume with the caption: “Welcome to the circus. #family.” Martine responded:

“We are absolutely a circus! Love you, darling.”

In what was seen by many as an attempt to save their 18-year relationship, the couple renewed their wedding vows two years ago.

But just two months later, Martine confessed that they “don’t have a perfect relationship at all.”

She added: “But through all the trials and tribulations, my friends – when I feel like I can’t reach him – have brought me back to my senses.”

Now that the marriage she worked so hard to build is over, she needs her friends more than ever.