EastEnders aired the truth about newcomer Reiss Colwell on the BBC soap on Tuesday night, as fans learned what he had been hiding for months.
The character joined as a love interest for Sonia Fowler in December last year, and was revealed to be the great-nephew of Dot Branning.
Dot, played by soap legend June Brown, died on the show in 2022 with loved ones and past characters uniting for her funeral.
Reiss joined the show in the fallout of her passing, and soon decided to stay in Walford after getting to know Sonia.
But it soon emerged he was hiding something after some cryptic phone calls and worrying conversations with a mystery person.
Soon enough, viewers learned that the character was married and had a secret wife amid his romance of Sonia and on Monday night, Sonia finally found out the shocking truth.
But the bombshells and devastation didn't end there, as during Tuesday's episode viewers finally found out the truth about his life away from Walford.
Reiss finally spilled what he had been hiding for months and all about his secret wife Debbie, and there was a heartbreaking twist.
Viewers and Sonia were introduced to Debbie as her identity and story were revealed.
Sonia discovered that Debbie is being cared for in a care home after suffering a major stroke some time ago.
Reiss did not say when the incident happened and how long Debbie had been in the home, while he hinted he originally cared for his wife at home before they had to seek professional assistance.
The character told Sonia that one evening while his wife was in the bath, she suffered a huge stroke, with doctors confirming she suffered "a significant bleed on the brain".
While Reiss believed his wife had her headphones in and was relaxing, she was actually suffering a medical emergency and could have drowned.
Reiss told Sonia he became worried after she did not emerge from the bathroom, and when he entered the room he found her.
Debbie had been suffering from headaches for weeks prior to the stroke.
She is now unresponsive and requires full-time care, at a standard which Reiss cannot offer his wife at home.
Debbie now remains at the care home, where she is visited and called by her husband, while she recently suffered a bad infection.
He told Sonia: "She can't move. She can't swallow, hence all this stuff. The kind of care she needs now I can't give her at home."
With her condition often taking a turn, and him unaware of what the future holds, he added: "They keep calling me in and you just never know."
Despite now knowing the truth, Sonia called time on their romance saying: "I'm so sorry for her, I'm sorry for both of you. I get why it would have been difficult to tell me but you didn't tell me, did you."
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
