Shula and Alistair: Is it all over?
After nearly two decades of marriage, delivered a devastating blow when she told him, “I just don’t love you anymore.” Things haven’t been right between them since death, she admitted to Jill, but Alistair certainly didn’t see this coming...
We take a look back at their history together...
Shula and Alistair – troubled beginnings
Shula and the Borchester vet began a tentative relationship after Alistair kissed her on New Year’s Eve in 1997.
They started dating and after a few false starts Alistair planned a romantic evening with a meal at a seafood restaurant in Borchester. Their dinner was interrupted when Alistair's pager went off, and he and Shula had to leave their meal, just after the starter, to deal with a breech birth at Grange Farm. By the time he had successfully delivered the healthy calf it was too late return to the restaurant. However, Clarrie invited them in for bacon sandwiches and hot chocolate. Left alone in the barn Alistair apologised to Shula for having to abandon their meal, Shula told him not to worry and kissed him for the second time since New Year.
However, things took a turn for the worse in February 1998 when Daniel developed juvenile arthritis and things between Shula and Alistair became tense. But when she couldn't abandon her beloved Ambridge, Richard left, making an enemy for Shula of his partner
Betrayed Alistair nonetheless declared his continuing love on a walk up Lakey Hill and proposes. Shula is taken completely by surprise; Alistair had moved too fast on this one, he asks her to at least think about it.
His second attempt went much better. The two were married on Christmas Eve 1998.
Alistair's gambling addiction
After being convinced by Nigel and Kenton to join their poker games in October 2003, Alistair developed a gambling habit. He moved on to playing with Matt and Chalkman and in January 2004 Shula’s card was rejected at the supermarket. By February Alistair was £8,000 in debt to Matt and Chalkman – he had been taking money from his and Shula’s joint account to fund his games. He had also borrowed £200 from David. When Alistair lost all his remaining cash in a poker game, Matt told him that until he paid his debts he wasn’t welcome at the table.
Once she knew about his debts Shula started looking at gambling addiction websites. Alistair complained to David - he was sick of Shula’s holier-than-thou attitude, and thought she was being unreasonable. He didn’t have a problem and he didn’t need her judegment. He was going to arrange a personal loan to cover what he owed on the business and joint accounts – he also said that he would tell Matt that he wasn’t going to play again.
In another row, Shula told Alistair she wanted their joint account put into her name only. Alistair couldn’t believe she meant it. They reached an impasse. When Shula turned to Caroline for support, Caroline told her some home truths: it wasn’t so long ago that Shula was the one not to be trusted and Alistair couldn’t have been more generous and forgiving.
Alistair admitted Shula that he started gambling because he felt his life was dull and work-centred. They decided to be more spontaneous and started with a bike ride around the new cycle path at Lower Loxley with Dan. They also redecorated their bedroom (and they had a play fight with the paint). Shula enlarged a picture from their honeymoon on St Kitts.
Things got back on track for a while until in 2006 while going through a low point (being sacked from Brookfield) Alistair returned to gambling. Initially it was online and then he started playing with Matt again. This time it was a lot worse and he ran up a total debt of £100,000 - £40,000 on credit cards and £60,000 to Matt. Alistair was reluctant to come in over the vet that Matt usually used but Matt persuaded him and he gave the horse some anti-inflammatories.
