Shona McGarty’s ex-fiancé, David Bracken, has spoken out publicly for the first time since the former EastEnders star entered the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! jungle — and his reaction has taken fans by surprise.

Shona, 34, who became a household name at just 16 playing Whitney Dean on EastEnders, touched down in Australia only weeks after her sudden split from David. The pair, who became engaged last year, ended their relationship shortly before she flew out for filming. Despite the timing, insiders insisted the breakup was amicable — and David’s latest social media post seems to confirm there’s no bitterness between them.

The musician, 38, took to his Instagram Stories to share a supportive throwback photo of the couple during happier times. Across the image, he wrote: “Let’s go girl! You got this.” Fans immediately picked up on the gesture, praising David for being gracious despite the very recent separation.

Shona's ex-fiance shared a message about her as she made her jungle debut(davidirishband/Instagram)

Although their engagement was brief, friends close to the pair previously shared that the decision to part ways was mutual. “They are on amicable terms,” a source said at the time. “They realised they wanted different things and are better off as friends. Shona is focusing on her music and her career.”

Shona and David originally met on TikTok two years ago, bonding over music before meeting in person. David — a member of the former Irish band Blessed — proposed during a romantic picnic in a Japanese garden in Kensington. Shona described the moment in an interview with OK! magazine: “He brought a picnic, which was really sweet. I didn’t expect him to propose. It was beautiful.”

The couple had even begun planning their wedding, imagining a Catholic ceremony in scenic West Cork, close to where both have family roots. Shona spoke fondly about the idea of marrying in Ireland, praising the landscape and the “amazing” churches.

Before her relationship with David, Shona had dated two of her EastEnders co-stars — Matt Lapinskas and later Max Bowden — but had kept her love life relatively private in recent years. Her focus shifted heavily to stage work, earning acclaim for her role as Jenny in the hit supernatural play 2:22 A Ghost Story.

Shona and her fellow campmates made quite the entrance on Sunday evening(ITV/Shutterstock)

Now, the spotlight is firmly back on her as she steps into the I’m A Celeb jungle alongside celebs like Ruby Wax, Kelly Brook, and Martin Kemp. But for Shona, the real challenge has nothing to do with the show’s creepy-crawly trials. Instead, she has been open about her long-term struggles with anxiety and depression — another reason she chose to take part.

Speaking from Australia just before entering camp, she told The Mirror:
“My mental health, my anxiety and my depression have been pretty bad for the last four or five years. It’s stopped me from doing a lot of things I’ve always wanted to do.”

The soap star admits she wants to conquer her anxiety in the jungle(ITV)

She added:
“I’ve come to a point in my life where I don’t want to let the anxiety win. Even talking to you now, I’m nervous, but I want to challenge myself and prove that I’m bigger than this anxiety.”

As viewers get to know Shona in the jungle, many are praising her honesty and courage — and now, with her ex publicly cheering her on, she enters the camp with more support than ever.

(Sources: The Mirror, OK! Magazine, BBC News, ITV)