Real-Life Love
‘Rivals’ Star Emily Atack Engaged to Boyfriend Alistair JW Garner: ‘I’m In Love’

Sarah Stratton’s romantic life may be complicated on the hit Hulu/Disney+ UK series Rivals, but Emily Atack‘s is anything but. The British actress confirmed her engagement to her boyfriend, Alistair JW Garner, on July 18.
The Inbetweeners alum shared a cozy photo with her new fiancé and showed off her gorgeous diamond engagement ring. “It’s Friday, I’m in love,” she captioned her Instagram post, followed by a batch of ring emojis. Atack and Garner posed in front of a country house in the Pyrenees mountains as they celebrated their engagement. Atack and Garner, who is a materials scientist, have known each other since they were children.
Some of Atack’s Rivals costars immediately took to the comments section of her Instagram post to send Atack and Garner love. “AHHHHHHHHHHH,” Bella Maclean, aka Taggie, wrote. She also added several heart emojis. Nafessa Williams, who plays Cameron, commented two smiley faces with heart emojis.
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Atack and her fellow Rivals actors are busy filming the 12-episode second season of the hit series, based on Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name, about the glamorous and high-stakes world of 1980s British television. Filming kicked off in May 2025 and will last 10 months, with Season 2 set to premiere in 2026.
The couple recently celebrated their son’s first birthday. Barney James Garner was born on June 20, 2024. “I’ve dreamt of you my whole life. It was always you. I love you beyond words, our beautiful, BEAUTIFUL boy. You are so cherished my heart could burst,” Atack wrote on Instagram at the time.
The couple didn’t start dating until they were well into adulthood. His father was married to her aunt. When they reconnected after 12 years, Atack and Garner knew they couldn’t get another chance at love to pass them by.
“He’s such a special person and we work so perfectly together,” she told Hello! magazine. “We always knew there were feelings there and when his dad sadly passed away last year, we realised life’s too short and decided to make a go of it, and I’m really glad we did. It has all happened very quickly, but I’ve known him for such a long time that it didn’t feel like a new relationship, I feel like we’ve been together for about 20 years. We would definitely love to get married at some point.”