Michelle Keegan would have "never" asked Mark Wright to quit his job in America.

Michelle Keegan

Michelle Keegan

The former 'Only Way is Essex' star stepped down from his presenting role on 'Extra' earlier this year in order to return to the UK and though his wife - who spends several months of the year shooting 'Our Girl' in South Africa - admitted it was "exhausting" having to travel to see one another, they managed to make it "work" until Mark made the decision himself to leave.

She said: "I never wanted to tell him to come back. It's not my place to tell him what to do. I wanted him to be ready to do it himself - it's his career and he made the choice. Hopefully it's the right one.

"And you know, we saw each other a lot while he was over there. We weren't going months and months without seeing each other, whatever people thought.

"It worked. Yeah, the travelling could get exhausting, but at this time in our lives it was exciting and we can look back in 10 or 20 years time and say: 'God, what a great experience that was.' "

The 32-year-old star previously claimed Michelle had cried when he told her he was planning to leave Los Angeles, but the 31-year-old actress insisted that wasn't the case.

She told Fabulous magazine: "He said I cried! I didn't cry! Pfft. I think he just wanted people to think that. But don't get me wrong, I'm really, really happy."

The former 'Coronation Street' actress is particularly happy to have normality back in their lives.

She said: "Having him home... It's nice just doing normal things: going to the deli for breakfast, getting a takeaway on a Saturday night, planning what Netflix series we're going to watch, travelling back and forth between Manchester and Essex to see our families, and having that flexibility."