EastEnders' Reiss steals money from comatose wife to fund IVF with Sonia
Reiss Colwell, played by Jonny Freeman, is already hiding another secret from Sonia.
Reiss Colwell has stolen from his comatose wife Debbie to fund his IVF journey with Sonia Fowler in EastEnders.
The socially awkward character played by Jonny Freeman has had various secrets about his life exposed since he got together with Sonia (Natalie Cassidy) at Dot Branning's funeral in December 2022.
The biggest reveal was that Reiss was married and had a secret wife named Debbie. However, a further twist in the tale saw him reveal that Debbie was unresponsive and had been in a long-term coma after suffering a devastating stroke years prior.
Initially, Sonia broke things off with Reiss due to his dishonesty, but her love for him shone through and realised they both could be happy together and she would support him with Debbie.
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In recent days, Sonia had wondered if she was pregnant by Reiss, prompting trust issues to emerge as Reiss claimed he did not want or like children and then accused her of cheating with Zack Hudson (James Farrar).
However, Sonia was not pregnant and Reiss revealed that he had fertility issues and had tried for years to have children with Debbie before he lost her to the stroke.
It was then that the prospect of IVF emerged and Sonia revealed she would like a child and would start this journey with Reiss.
Yet, in Thursday's episode, the pair hit a roadblock as Sonia found the fact that she was already a mother - to Rebecca "Bex" Fowler - would count against her and the waiting lists would be long and they would struggle to find funding from the NHS, with private IVF rounds costing in the thousands.
Later, Reiss then revealed some delightful news to Sonia - his mother had left money for him in a trust fund and thousands of pounds were in it, meaning they could fund their IVF journey.
A delighted Sonia - who had asked Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) for advice on being a mature mother - was ready to get going in their quest to become parents together.
Shockingly, a twist in the tale saw Reiss secretly visit the bank account for the funds, but viewers saw that the account was solely in the name of "Deborah Colwell".
Ultimately, Reiss was stealing money from his wife's account to fund IVF with Sonia, despite his control over his wife's finances likely being in place for her benefit.
Naturally, fans had some thoughts on the latest twist in Reiss and Sonia's love story.
What will Sonia say when she discovers the truth? Plus, just how unlikely is Debbie to make an eventual recovery?
We smell heartbreak coming!
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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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