Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) is finally free from Tom King (James Chase) in Emmerdale.
When Tom and Belle got together in 2023, it wasn’t long until we started to see signs of dark and worrying behaviour from him.
At first, Tom’s actions were small, but he then became hellbent on isolating Belle from her entire family.
Over the next year, Tom was responsible for installing security cameras in the house, tracking Belle’s every movement, physically and mentally abusing her, as well as pretending her dog Piper had died in an attempt to get close to her again.
The beloved character has been recovering from her abusive relationship for the majority of this year. While Tom was sentenced to prison in December 2024, Belle has still technically been married to him ever since.
She began divorce proceedings a few months ago, but she only got word in this evening’s episode that the lengthy process had finally been completed.
In the café, Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) arrived and handed Belle and important letter.
She opened it and read confirmation she was no longer Belle King on record. The divorce had been finalised, which meant she was back to being a Dingle.
Lydia knew this was good news, but felt curious when she noticed the somewhat surprised look on Belle’s face.
She admitted to Lydia that she’s taken aback by it all because she expected Tom to put up a fight. After all, once Belle had accepted in her mind that Tom was abusing her she did her best to get rid of him, but he constantly fought back, denying her claims.
But the paper was official which meant Belle allowed herself time to relish in the relief. She smiled.
Tom first started showing signs of being controlling and violent in 2023, when he pushed Belle after she said that she didn’t want to get engaged.
It means this entire ordeal for her has lasted almost two years but finally, it’s over.
While Belle has another physical reminder that Tom has left her life, the mental scars from the abuse will stay with her forever. It means that the relationship world will feel even more challenging for her, as she finds out in upcoming episodes.
As she prepares to dip her toe back in the dating pool she chats to Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) who, having been there through the Tom saga and still feeling guilty about it, actively encourages her to jump back in. Belle loads up the dating apps and Nicola can’t help but get involved, grabbing the phone for a good swipe.
When Belle later bumps into Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah), she confesses it was Nicola who connected them, leaving Kammy brave-facing it but secretly gutted.
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Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), who has become weirdly intuitive these days, senses there’s more there than an accidental swipe. He’s not encouraging though, instead, he gives Kammy a talking to about backing off. Belle is mortified but tells Cain she has no interest anyway.
But Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) is also intuitive in a much more supportive way, and senses that Belle is protesting a bit too much.
She has a word with the young Dingle and encourages her to pursue the match. Forgetting that Kammy was once sleeping with Belle’s great niece, could this be the latest greatest romance to hit the village?