Kym Marsh and Oliver Mellor's affair was "real" and more than a "careless fling".
The former 'Coronation Street' actor insists his romance with his co-star - who was married to Jamie Lomas at the time - was "real" but he was left "unhappy" with the stress of keeping their relationship a secret.
Oliver said: "I don't know if our relationship was the cause of Kym's divorce or just the catalyst - they had problems in their relationship already.
"But what happened between us wasn't just a careless fling. It was real. Sadly, at the time, I thought Kym would never leave Jamie so I decided it was time to get out. It couldn't go on the way it was.
"But at the end of the affair the stress and rollercoaster of emotions was too much and made me unhappy."
However, Kym - who was granted a divorce from Jamie earlier this month after she called the police when he allegedly flew into a drunken rage over the affair - was more worried about what the EastEnders' star would do to Oliver if he found out.
Oliver told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "She worried what would happen if he came after me. I wasn't scared of Jamie, but it was horrible to see how worried Kym was and yet chose to stay with him."
Olivier ended his relationship with Kym - who has two-year-old daughter Poppy with Jamie, as well as David, 18, and Emily, 16, from a previous relationship - last August and is now dating glamour model Rhian Sugden and says his current happiness makes him realise things would never have worked out with the brunette beauty.
He said: "I don't regret my relationship with Kym but now I am in a real relationship and I'm truly happy for the first time I can see that it was doomed from the start and it took a lot out of both of us."
Tagged in Jamie Lomas Kym Marsh