The couples who met on reality shows
As X Factor's Stevie Ritchie and Chloe-Jasmine Whichello celebrate their engagement, we check out more couples who’ve met on TV...
As much as they tried to deny it, viewers were pretty quick to suss out the fact that X Factor contestants Stevie Ritchie and Chloe-Jasmine Whichello were more than just friends on last year's series. After the show the couple went public and now, just seven months after the eleventh series wrapped, the pair have announced they are to be wed. Yes, there’s a wedding on the way.
Stevie’s just waiting for his former mentor and Harvester-eating pal Simon Cowell to confirm he’s going to attend.
The happy couple certainly aren’t the only ones to have found love while in the reality show bubble. Here’s more stars who’ve found love on TV…
Peter Andre and Katie Price
After 2004’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Peter Andre didn’t just leave the jungle with new track Insania under his belt; he emerged with a brand new girlfriend, Katie Price. The pair’s chemistry was evident throughout the third series of the competition and they were wed by September 2005. The couple had two children together – Junior and Princess – but announced they were separating in 2009. Andre has recently remarried and Price married her third husband in 2013.
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David Seaman and Frankie Poultney
Former England goalkeeper David Seaman took part in Dancing on Ice in 2008 and ended up meeting his now wife Frankie Poultney. The sportsman wasn’t actually paired up with Frankie, but is said to have got to know her during the show’s live tour. Seaman split with his then wife Debbie Rodgers, marrying Frankie in February of this year.
Samia Ghadie and Sylvain Longchambon
David and Frankie aren’t the only stars to have found love on the ice. In 2013 Coronation Street star Samia Ghadie was partnered up with French pro skater Sylvain Longchambon. Their romance became a point of regular discussion on the series, with the couple going on to announce their engagement in May 2015. The pair are expecting their first child together.
Jimi Mistry and Flavia Cacace
Former Coronation Street star Jimi Mistry found love on the dance floor in 2010 when he struck up a relationship with pro partner Flavia Cacace. The couple were eliminated after six weeks in the competition. By December 2013 they were married. Mistry is said to have popped the question on New Year’s Eve the previous year.
Denise Van Outen and Lee Mead
Casualty actor Lee Mead rose to fame on 2007’s musical theatre competition Any Dream Will Do. The show saw him scoop the title role in the West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. It was during the competition that he met Denise Van Outen, who was among the stars on the expert panel. They were married by 2009, had a daughter in 2010, before announcing their separation in 2013.
Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards
Former One Direction band member and Little Mix star Perrie Edwards didn’t meet while on the same series of the X Factor, but the two alumni are a much-discussed reality show couple. It’s thought the pair met after Zayn showed his support for the girl band who scooped victory in 2011, the year after he’d taken part with the boy band. In 2013 news broke that they were engaged.
Samuel Preston and Chantelle Houghton
In 2006 Chantelle Houghton was the first ever non-celeb to enter Celebrity Big Brother, going in under the guise of being a pop star. While in the house Chantelle and The Ordinary Boys’ Samuel Preston struck up a relationship. Chantelle went on to win the competition and the pair were married within the year. By 2007 the couple had divorced.
Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff
Strictly’s sixth series in 2009 saw yet another romance blossom in the ballroom. Pro dancer Kristina Rihanoff and her celebrity partner - former boxer Joe Calzaghe - struck up a relationship as they danced their way through five weeks of the competition. They were together for four years before splitting in 2013.
Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev
During 2013’s Strictly Come Dancing it was all eyes on Countdown star Rachel Riley, who eventually confirmed she was dating her pro partner Pasha Kovalev. They have been together since with Kovalev admitting they are “having a good time together”. “She’s very busy and I’m very busy so we’re enjoying that little time we can get together as much as we can,” he told the Daily Express Online. Kovalev won the competition with Caroline Flack last year.
Louise Cliffe and Stuart Pilkington
Big Brother contestant Louise Cliffe found love in the BB house in 2011 with fellow housemate Jay McKray. They tied the knot and seemed to have found the reality show happily ever after. However, the pair split after a year of marriage. Now, Louise is dating Stuart Pilkington, who also appeared on the show in 2008. Who’da thunk it, eh? The duo are said to have been together since the beginning of this year, with Pilkington dubbing Cliffe his “best friend” and “soul mate” on Twitter earlier this week.
