Ayola has stated that there was initially "no spark" between them,[1] however they met again two years later during a production of Twelfth Night, and went on to become a couple.[2] Asked to describe what attracted her to Smethurst, Ayola responded: "He's a very nice, uncomplicated man, but I saw something deeper in him. I also liked his incredible cheerfulness and openness and he has grown up with sisters so that made him easy with women."[1] Smethurst proposed to Ayola by giving her a locket, containing a scroll which read "Will you marry me?".[1] They married in May 2004, and Ayola gave birth to their daughter Tansy in July that year.[3] Ayola has explained that they planned the wedding before discovering her pregnancy,[4] and although they had been trying to conceive for around eighteen months, she failed to recognise the initial symptoms and instead believed herself to be diabetic.[1] In the early years of their marriage, Smethurst and Ayola struggled financially, and she has spoken of her worry that she may have to cease acting, shortly before being offered the role of Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City.[5] In October 2008, Ayola announced that she was pregnant with the couple's second child.