She tied the knot with her husband in a romantic wedding ceremony in his native Italy two years ago – but Kelly Brook admits that they never actually got around to booking a honeymoon.
So when producers came knocking to invite the couple onto the first celeb series of hit TV show Race Around The World, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a romantic trip away.
But as the 44-year-old model admits, it wasn’t all fairy-tale villas and sipping cocktails by the pool, as she and hubby Jeremy Parisi, 39, endured searing heat, monster crabs and general chaos on their 12,500km dash from Brazil to Chile on a budget of £1,100 each.
Kelly tells Closer, “We hadn’t had a honeymoon and I said to Jeremy we should consider this as a fun alternative, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At times it was the honeymoon from hell – at other times it was absolutely glorious. It’s got to be the most memorable honeymoon ever!”
The pair had no idea where they were going until they arrived at the airport and opened an envelope. “Honestly, you really don’t get any moment to prepare,” Kelly reveals. “What you see on screen is what you get, we just literally turned up in this marketplace at the gateway to the Amazon jungle going, ‘Why are we here? Where are we going next?’ It’s chaotic. Jeremy’s running in one direction. I’m running in the other!”
During the race – which saw them competing against celebs DJ Scott Mills and husband Sam, reality star Jeff Brazier and son Freddy, and Ted Lasso star Kola Bokkini and his cousin Mary Ellen – Kelly and Jeremy boosted their funds by working. “We’d do anything,” laughs Kelly.
“We ended up planting a mangrove by hand in the Amazon jungle. There were giant mud crabs everywhere. It’s dirty, wet and rainy. But what an experience!”
And Kelly, who previously dated Hollywood actors Jason Statham and Billy Zane, and rugby stars Danny Cipriani and Thom Evans, admits that going through hardships together during the five-week race opened her eyes to their relationship dynamic.
She says, “I didn’t realise how competitive he was, like, crazy competitive. I’m much more about the experience. I think I got on his nerves because he was full steam ahead. If Jeremy was doing the race alone, he’d have finished it in a week. I was kind of slowing him down a little bit and I was like, let’s have a Brazilian barbecue one day or let’s go to the beach.
“I was grumpy at times – every night we didn’t know where we’d be sleeping – but I think he was surprised how strong I was. At some points I was carrying both of our bags. In the end you’re like machines, we were like little ninjas running around South America!”
It was all a break from tradition for Kelly, who confesses that her version of adventure is usually sushi and luxury travel. But she hopes that viewers will see a new side to her.
She says, “I think people have kind of pigeon-holed me as this glamorous pin-up with the make-up and the hair and the body… so it was nice to get rid of all of that and just be a normal woman and wife. It’s very hard for anyone to get to know you on a lot of these TV shows, but I think with Race, there’s no hiding. It’s very warts and all, you’re very kind of stripped back. And they do see you in the most difficult situations. And I think how you respond to them says a lot about your character. I can’t say my character was always amazing!”
Now back home in London after selling her Kent farmhouse last year, Kelly was delighted to be reunited with her beloved Cavapoo, Teddy, four. And she’s already setting her sights on her next TV project, La Dolce Vita, which she jokingly describes as an Italian version of Clarkson’s Farm!
Kelly says, “We shot a pilot and it’s currently at ITV Studios. Jeremy’s family have an olive oil farm with a factory in Italy. So it’s just us going there renovating the farm buildings, and me learning Italian and then living on the farm and learning the process of olive oil pressing and that rural Italian lifestyle. It’s not over the line yet, we’re trying to get it commissioned. We’ve shot a pilot and it looks really lovely.
“In the meantime, this summer we’re going to chill a little bit, see how the audience reacts to this, and see if they want to see more of Kezza and Jezza!”
Celebrity Race Across The World starts 14 August, 9pm, BBC One.