If I had met my MAFS husband off-screen, I would have dumped him on the second date
Peggy Lawrence sits in front of her television, completely distraught.
She’s watching the new series of MAFS UK and it’s bringing up a lot of emotions.
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The 33-year-old starred in the latest series and was paired with 31-year-old Georges Berthonneau. She fell in love and thought their relationship would last, but things went wrong earlier this year.
She announced it was over on Valentine’s Day and accused him of cheating, which he denied.
Peggy tells Fabulous exclusively: “A lot of my cast members say they can’t watch it. I was glued to it and in tears watching the weddings.
“It brought up my experiences with Georges and our wedding day, I found him very attractive at the time, the instant connection was incredible.
“In a way it feels like ages ago. We were only together for a year, but it felt like 10, when you’re going through such an intense process and such difficult times.
“I thought he was ‘the one’ so I was devastated when it was over.”
Peggy already has a favourite woman in the new series: Sacha, 29, a beautician from Birmingham, who is paired with painter and decorator Ross, 32, from Manchester.
“I think Sacha is amazing,” says Peggy. “She reminds me of myself, she’s very family oriented and a girly girl who loves Barbie, but she’s also bold and knows her limits.
“She is celibate and although I have not described myself as such, I have made it clear that sex is precious to me and should be with the right person at the right time, rather than just randomly. Of course, that is what happened with Georges!
“I don’t judge girls for wanting to have sex on the first night – everyone has to do what’s right for them. But I can relate to Sacha and I liked that when Ross heard about it, he was courteous about it.”
Luckily, Peggy found another gentleman.
They started dating in April but she’s not ready to reveal his name yet. He has asked her to move in with him though, so she’ll be splitting her time between London 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 past relationships.
“I learned a lot from the MAFS process, for example about making compromises. I am now in a good position to make it work.
“I look back now and wonder how long Georges and I would have lasted without the help of the experts. We are both very stubborn and I suspect I would have broken up with him after a few dates because of his lack of ambition.
“But he taught me that work isn’t everything and that I just need to relax sometimes.
“I quit working in tech and instead started an online fashion business and freed up time to relax.”
Peggy watches the couples and is glad that Casper, 35, a gardener from the New Forest, who is paired with sales manager Emma, 31, from Bristol, was not on the show with her. “I was lucky with my castmates, I’m still in touch with all of them.
“But if I was on this show, I would probably have had a row with Casper. Emma is a beautiful girl. And yet he said he had a problem with her weight. She is only a size 14, below the UK average, and he needs to learn not to judge by appearances. He was very rude.
“I’m a girly girl and if I heard such disrespect I would have to speak up.
“I hope his words don’t affect her confidence. I used to be a size 12 and an ex made a horrible comment about my size that has always stuck with me.”
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Although Peggy says MAFS was the best time of her life, she’s feeling for the couples right now.
She says: “It’s a tricky part of the process because you can’t see each other, because there’s a risk that a member of the audience will see you and then the surprise of who’s still together is ruined. Although Georges and I have met in secret.
“When the show goes on air, so does all your dirty laundry, you relive the arguments and the emotions, plus there’s added pressure from public opinion. But if you’re strong enough, you can work through it.
“And you remind yourself that they only show a portion – probably about 5 percent of what’s filmed gets aired.”
There were whole parts of Peggy that went unnoticed. One of her lowest points was her dust allergy, which required hospital treatment and steroids.
“It’s tiring because you hardly have time to get away from the cameras,” she says.
“It’s not scripted, although they might ask you to reshoot something from a different angle, or ask you to have a conversation with someone about their relationship. Or if something happens off-camera, they’ll ask you to discuss it on-camera.
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“You have to get up really early – normally for me it was 6am to make sure I looked good for the cameras. Georges didn’t mind and was often in bed when the cameras turned up!”
“And they are very long days. The dinners for example, you would leave at 8:30 and drink bubbles at 11:00 and stay there for hours.
“I never ate the food there because it got cold. Instead, I would take something from my dressing room and have a nice pizza when the shooting was done.
“Again, during the commitment ceremonies you could sit there for 14 hours, everyone talking about their relationship, with only breaks for food and toilet breaks. It’s really helpful, the experts are incredible.”
Peggy thinks three couples need her help so far: Emma and Casper, Eve, 31, a fitness coach from Omagh, and Charlie, 30, a lettings agent from Surrey, and Polly, 28, a careers advisor from Kent, and Adam, 33, a hairdresser from Nottingham.
“You only see bits and pieces, but from what I saw, Eve and Charlie need to learn to communicate. I felt for Charlie, it’s not fun to have sex with someone and then leave immediately, which is what Eve apparently did. She must have felt lonely and isolated on her honeymoon when it should have been a great week. Running away from problems doesn’t solve them.
It’s not scripted, but they might ask you to shoot it again from a different angle.
Peggy on filming for MAFS UK
“And I was looking at 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 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 make it to the end.
“I love them,” she says. “They scream to go the distance and have children. They are a breath of fresh air and she has the right idea, ideally she wanted a tall man but she overlooked that. The others can learn from her.”
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And she has high hopes for Nathan, 24, an engineer from Somerset, and Lacey, 27, an office manager from Hertfordshire.
Although there have been concerns that some people are there for a showmance, Peggy dismisses the idea, saying: “I would hate for anyone to do it for the fame. It would be a terribly unfair thing to do, it’s a waste of the other person’s time, there are families involved. Despite a shaky start with Georges, my family ultimately loved him and were sad when it ended.
“Whatever happens, it will definitely be an experience they will remember. I don’t regret for a second that I went ahead.”
Mafs Couples That Have Stood the Test of Time
Season six’s lovelorn Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling had the first Mafs child.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other during the programme and soon found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s house in Doncaster.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins made their marriage work off-camera, welcoming their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel really lucky and grateful that it worked out – and I’m looking forward to everything that’s coming.”
Michelle and Owen were both done with dating apps when they signed up in 2019.
Owen recalls: “I had gone out for drinks with a friend after work.
“While he went to smoke a cigarette, I was on Instagram waiting for him to come back.
“The MAFS ad was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later, when I got home, I submitted the application and the rest is history.”
Another couple who made history for Mafs UK are Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a rocky start, which included a falling out over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first gay couple is still a success.
They even have a successful podcast together: Life With a Pod.
Jenna opened up about her involvement with the show earlier this year when she told us, “We’re not legally married and I never felt like we were. I definitely think the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of experts… if you survive that process, it builds a solid foundation for a long-term relationship.”
