SITTING in front of her television, Peggy Lawrence is in pieces.
She’s watching the new series of MAFS UK and it’s stirred up a host of emotions.
Peggy is said to have found new love – but is keeping the identity of her boyfriend a secret for now[/caption]
The 33-year-old starred in the last series and was matched with Georges Berthonneau, 31. She fell in love and thought their relationship would go the distance, but earlier this year it disintegrated.
She announced it was over on Valentine’s Day, accusing him of cheating, which he’s denied.
Talking exclusively to Fabulous, Peggy says: “A lot of my fellow cast mates say they can’t watch. I’ve been glued to it and in tears seeing the weddings.
“It brought up my experiences with Georges and our wedding day. Back then I thought he was very attractive, the immediate connection was incredible.
“In a way it feels like ages ago. We were only together for a year but it felt like 10, as you go through such an intense process and such tough times.
“I thought he was ‘the one’ so I was devastated when it was over.”
Peggy already has a favourite girl in the new series, Sacha, 29, an aesthetics practitioner from Birmingham, who’s been matched with painter and decorator Ross, 32, from Manchester.
“I think Sacha is incredible,” says Peggy. “She reminds me of me, she’s very family orientated and a girly girl who loves Barbie, but she’s also ballsy and knows her boundaries.
“She’s celibate and though I didn’t describe myself as that, I made it clear that to me sex was precious and has to be with the right person at the right time, rather than willy nilly. It did eventually happen with Georges of course!
“I don’t judge girls who want to have sex on the first night – everyone must do what’s right for them. But I can empathise with Sacha and I liked the fact that when Ross heard he was gentlemanly about it.”
Happily Peggy has found another gentleman.
They started dating in April, but she’s not quite ready to go public with his name, though he’s asked her to move in, so she’ll split her time between London with him and her parents’ house in Kent.
“He hasn’t officially asked me to be his girlfriend yet,” she explains. “And I find it hard to trust men based on my previous relationships.
“I learnt a lot from the MAFS process, such as compromise so I’m in a good place to make it work.
“I look back now and wonder how long Georges and I would have lasted without the expert help. We’re both very stubborn and I suspect after a couple of dates I’d have ended it over his lack of ambition.
“But he taught me that work isn’t everything and just to relax sometimes.
“I’ve given up working in tech and have got an online fashion business instead and built in time to chill.”
Watching the couples, Peggy is glad that Casper, 35, a gardener from the New Forest, matched with sales manager, Emma, 31, from Bristol, wasn’t on the show with her. “I was lucky with my fellow cast members, I’m still in touch with them all.
“But if I was on this series I suspect I’d have locked horns with Casper. Emma is a gorgeous girl. And yet he said he struggled with her weight. She’s only a size 14, below the UK average and he needs to learn not to judge on appearances. He was very rude.
“I’m a girls’ girl and if I heard that sort of disrespect, I’d have to speak out.
“I hope his words don’t affect her self-esteem, I used to be a size 14 and an ex made a horrible remark about my size that’s stuck with me.”
READ MORE MAFS DRAMA
While Peggy says that being on MAFS was the best time of her life, she feels for the couples at the moment.
She says: “It’s a tough part of the process, because you can’t see each other as it’s a risk that a member of the public will spot you and then it’ll ruin the surprise of who’s still together. Though Georges and I did meet in secret.
“Equally when the show is airing so is all of your dirty laundry, you relive the arguments and the emotions, plus there’s added pressure from the public opinions. But if you’re strong enough you can work through it.
“And you remind yourself that they’re only showing parts – probably about 5 per cent of what is filmed gets aired.”
There were whole chunks with Peggy that went unseen, one of her lowest points was having a dust allergy, needing hospital treatment and steroids.
“It’s exhausting as you rarely get any down time from the cameras,” she says.
“It’s not scripted, though they might ask you to film something again from a different angle, or ask you to go and have a conversation with someone about their relationship. Or if something happens off camera, then they’ll ask you to discuss it on camera.
“You have to get up really early – 6am was usual for me to make sure I looked good for the cameras, Georges didn’t mind so much and was often in bed when they turned up!
“And it’s very long days. The dinner parties for example you’d leave at 8.30am and be drinking fizz by 11am and be there for hours.
“I never ate the food at them as it went cold, instead I’d have something in my dressing room and then a cheeky pizza when filming finished.
“Again during the commitment ceremonies, you could be sitting there for 14 hours, while everyone discussed their relationship, with only breaks for food and the toilet. It’s really helpful though, the experts are incredible.”
So far Peggy thinks three couples are in need of their help – Emma and Casper, Eve, 31, a fitness coach from Omagh, and Charlie, 30, a lettings operator, from Surrey, and Polly, 28, a careers advisor from Kent, and Adam, 33, a barber from Nottingham.
“You only see snippets but from what I’ve seen, Eve and Charlie need to learn to communicate. I felt for Charlie, it’s not nice to have sex with someone and then leave straight away, which it seems Eve did. She must have felt lonely and isolated on her honeymoon, when it should be an amazing week. Running away from problems doesn’t solve them.
It’s not scripted, though they might ask you to film something again from a different angle.
Peggy on filming for MAFS UK
“And I watched Adam and Polly with my head in my hands. It was so awkward. I feel so sorry for her, he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, hopefully he can grow to love her.”
Meanwhile Peggy is putting her money on Kristina, 31, a dog walker from East Sussex, and Kieran, 28, a mechanic from Newcastle, to go the distance.
“I love them,” she says. “They scream going the distance and having babies. They’re a breath of fresh air and she’s got the right idea, ideally she wanted a tall man, but she’s seen past that. The others can learn from her.”
And she has high hopes for Nathan, 24, an engineer from Somerset, and Lacey, 27, an office manager from Hertfordshire, too.
While concerns have been raised that some people are there for a showmance, Peggy dismisses the idea, saying: “I’d hate to think anyone has done it for fame. It would be a desperately unfair thing to do, it’s wasting the other person’s time, there are families involved. Despite a shaky start with Georges my family ended up loving him and were sad when it ended.
“Whatever happens for them it will certainly be an experience they remember – I don’t regret going on for a second.”
Mafs couples that have stood the test of time
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
