Married at First Sight’s Owen and Michelle from Sheffield give updates on their lives as new series kicks off

Now living happily together for 18 months since they first appeared on the show, Owen, aged 33 and Michelle, 27 jokingly said they have become “one of those boring married couples” and that they sometimes forget they were once in the public eye.

Married at First Sight UK returned with a new series last night, with some major format changes following the wildly successful Australian version.

Previously, the Channel 4 show followed couples who got legally married without ever having met.

Viewers would then follow their journey as they embarked on their honeymoon and moving in together.

However, unlike in previous seasons, couples will not be formally married this time. Instead, they will have a lifetime commitment ceremony which is led by a wedding celebrant.

Owen said: “Ours was nice to see, but makes quite a boring story. I think they want a bit of drama, right?

“I think the way Australia does it, the kind of people who sign up for it might want different things that we necessarily wanted it and it will be a lot more drama - that’s what makes good TV.”

Michelle, who is originally from Hastings and now has fully embraced being a Northerner, said she has grown to love Sheffield since the couple moved into their new home together last February.

“Sheffield is one of my favourite places I’ve lived. Such a cool city, lots of villages and it has that community feel. It has lots of spaces to run and it’s got so many cool bars,” she said.

“I really like it here…now I’m just trying to convince Owen to get a dog,” she laughed.

She added: “I guess if we were to describe our marriage, we are just like Joe and Sarah next door sort of thing. No difference. We are very happy in the new house - a boring couple. I think this is why they changed the format!”

Michelle, who works as a primary school teacher, has also launched her own podcast called ‘You’re Kidding Me’ - a little project that she hopes could help children rebuild their self-esteem and confidence caused by the pandemic.

“I thought it would be cool to have a podcast that they can contribute a lot to and they can hear about their own work,” she said.

Michelle is also taking part in the upcoming Sheffield Half Marathon and Manchester Marathon in October to raise funds for a children’s mental health charity, Place2Be.

“I’ve decided to run the Sheffield half and Manchester Marathon for Place2Be and I have chosen to raise money for them as they are two important causes very close to me- children and mental health,” she said.

Asked if Owen would be joining her, he said, laughing: “I’m not. I will be watching and cheering for her on the side. Then I will be in a pub.”

To listen to Michelle’s podcast, visit its website here and to support her fundraising campaign, visit here.

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