Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas has been in a relationship with his co-star for over 10 years

Who knew Simon had it in him?

The Inbetweeners actor Joe Thomas has been together with one of his on-screen love interests for more than a decade. Fans of the iconic, coming-of-age comedy will know all too well how little luck Thomas's character Simon Cooper had with the ladies. [caption id="attachment_352227" align="alignnone" width="660"] Name a more iconic group of tragic teenage boys (Image: E4)[/caption] The show, which aired on E4 between 2008 and 2010, saw Simon drunkenly write "I love Carly Damato" on her driveway, throw up all over her brother and accidentally get his testicles out on the catwalk of her fashion show. So, it's fair to say the character made an absolute mug of himself while trying to impress his high school heartthrob throughout all three series. However despite Simon's obsession with Carly, it was actually another one of the character's love interests that Thomas ended up sealing the deal with off-screen. [caption id="attachment_352223" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Joe Thomas and Hannah Tointon have been together for over a decade (Image: Getty)[/caption] Hannah Tointon, who played Simon's girlfriend Tara in the final series on The Inbetweeners, is the woman who turned out to be Thomas's real-life, long-term lover. It wasn't meant to be for the characters in the series but the actors are celebrating 12 years as a couple this year. [caption id="attachment_352226" align="alignnone" width="1285"] Hannah Tointon and Joe Thomas attend the World Premiere of "The Festival" in Leicester Square in London, 2018 (Image: Getty)[/caption] Thomas, 38, and Tointon, 34, moved in together a couple of years after The Inbetweeners ended in 2010, Metro reports, before getting engaged in 2017. The duo later starred in 2018 comedy film The Festival together and while again their characters were not meant to be, the actors continued to stay strong in real life.

Warning: video contains strong and sexual language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6w6RWxkC0M The couple like to keep a fairly low-profile relationship but speaking to presenter Christine Bleakly on Lorraine when The Festival came out, Thomas said it was "nice and easy" to work alongside his fiancée and jokingly added: "I’ve just got used to it. She’s in everything. Because my brain is nice and simple. It went very well, I think." And when asked who or what was the love of her life in January 2020, Tointon told The Sun: "My fiancé Joe. We’ve been together for 10 years. He’s just brilliant." Related links:

• James Buckley rules out any chance of an Inbetweeners return
• Brits don't like saying 'let's have sex' - what they say instead is just bizarre
• Emily Atack calls out troll for crude 'boob' comment on her birthday photos