With all the Made in Chelsea relationship drama this series (we’re looking at you, Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott), it’s easy to forget that there are actually a number of happy couples on the show. Case in point: Ollie Locke and his fiancé Gareth, who are getting ready to walk down the aisle.
It’s not all been plain sailing for them though as Ollie has been denied his lavish dream wedding due to coronavirus restrictions. Despite this, Ollie and Gareth have pushed on with their plans to get married but recently suffered yet another setback when the venue they chose refused to marry them as gay marriages are not possible in the Church of England.
They revealed the heart-breaking news while chatting with close pal Sophie Hermann during last night’s episode of the E4 show (November third), as they discussed the upcoming nuptials.
“We had this idea of getting married in this beautiful church, and we found this beautiful church and like going through the process of actually having a wedding there, how are we going to do it, and then we found out that basically we can’t actually get married there,” Gareth told Sophie.
When asked why, Ollie replied, “They don’t do gay marriages.
“I must admit that was the most upset I’d been for a long time because it kind of, we’ve obviously fought for so many years for all of this, and we’re so delighted that it’s now a legal situation that we are allowed to get married and we wanted to celebrate that.
“For someone to literally turn around and say, ‘you can’t I’m afraid, we’ll give you a blessing’.”
CHECK OUT Made in Chelsea's most dramatic splits
Made in Chelsea most dramatic splits - slider
Spencer Matthews and Caggie Dunlop
The OG tragic split, even featuring an IRL (well, scripted reality) leaving at the airport scene. Spencer and Caggie weren't officially a couple, with Spencer dating model Funda Önal, but the chemistry between them was undeniable and for a long time Spenny thought of her as the love of his life. Eventually, feeling played by Spencer stringing her along while refusing to dump Funda (we don't blame her, tbh) Caggie left to pursue a "music career" in New York, and Spencer, realising the error of his ways, rushed to catch her at the airport to win her back. He missed her. Talk about dramatic.
Ollie Lock and Gabriella Ellis
Cast your minds back to the first series and you will remember that a long-locked Ollie Lock was in fact dating a woman - aspiring pop star Garbriella Ellis, no less. But the couple split because Ollie was confused about his sexuality, and he quickly went on his "first ever" date with a man, leaving Gabriella heartbroken. So heartbroken, in fact, that she wrote her next pop song, Fight, about him, and there were some bizarre scenes in series two when she cast an Ollie lookalike to play the role of the leading man (subtle, hun).
Hugo Taylor and Millie Mackintosh
We all know how this turned out IN THE END, but cast your minds back to series one and you'll remember the OG Chelsea power couple met a very messy end when Millie found out that Hugo (best mate of slimy Spencer Matthews) had cheated on her with HER best friend, the unassuming Rosie Fortescue. Cue a VERY dramatic speech at a party where Millie outed their betrayal in front of all their friends, making for possibly one of the best MiC scenes to this day.
Spencer Matthews and Louise Thompson
After Caggie, Spencer's next conquest (in fact there might have been a few in between, to be fair), was weepy Louise Thompson, who was regularly reduced to tears by his womanizing ways. For some reason she stayed with him through multiple infidelities (seriously, we don't get it?) but things eventually came to a head when Spence met Louise at a bridge by the Thames (a classic) and told her he couldn't respect her when she "allowed" him to cheat on her.
Binky Felstead and Alex Mytton
We were all rooting for Binky and new boy Alex Mytton when he showed up in series five, but it quickly became apparent he was one of the 'bois' by how well he got along with resident villains Spencer and Jamie Laing. They were a cute couple for a while, but Binky eventually split with Alex after learning he'd cheated on her on a night out with Spencer. She later found out the night in question had actually been an ORGY, which made things ten times worse. Poor Binks.
Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson
Ah, young love's dream. Except, not really, because a freshly de-cherried (presumably) Sam Thompson simply could not keep it in his pants during his two year relationship with Tiffany Watson. The couple eventually split during tearful scenes in Croatia, with Tiffany quitting the show shortly after. However, after Sam returned in 2019 with his Love Island girlfriend Zara McDermott in tow there were some seriously tense scenes where Sam very much gave the impression he wasn't over his first love.
Louise Thompson and Alik Alfus
This one ruined us. Sure, New Yorker Alik was a bit of a bumbling idiot, and moving to the UK and asking Louise to marry him was A TAD overkill, but the scenes where Louise decided she couldn't go through with it and gave the ring back were peak heartbreak. There was later talk that their split had something to do with fellow American cast member Stephanie Pratt, but she hit back with a tweet saying, "Uhhh no she was shagging her trainer since March." She's now engaged (or is she?) to said trainer, Ryan Libbey.
Jamie Laing and Frankie Gaff
We hate to say it, but Chelsea OG Jamie Laing just doesn't seem like he deserves a girlfriend. Not that Frankie Gaff was our fave, but is there a single partner Jamie hasn't done the dirty on? His relationship with Frankie was particularly eye-roll, but Frankie gave as good as she got when she went after Jamie's boi Alex Mytton and allegedly hooked up with TOWIE's Dan Edgar. They eventually split after one too many tearful confrontations at the dinner table with friends, and Frankie quit shortly afterward.
Liv Bentley and Digby Edgley
After meeting on the set of one of 'photographer' Liv's nude shoots, it was love at first sight for these two and they managed a pretty normal relationship for a good few series. But things started getting rocky in series 18 with Digby increasingly frustrated by Liv's social life and Liv feeling stifled. At the end of the series after some major on-ing and an off-ing, Digby left for South Africa for work for three months, but then Liv went on Celebs Go Dating and the former couple shared some cut throat digs on Insta.
Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire
Let's face it - the golden era of MiC ended when the last remaining connections to the OG cast faded from the show (excluding Jamie Laing, obv), and we've been less invested in their relationships since then. But a special mention goes to Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire. As each others' first loves in their native France, Maeva followed Miles to London where she joined the MiC cast and after a full series of heartbreak, the couple agreed to move on. We're sure Miles didn't have his best mate James Taylor in mind for Maeva's next squeeze, though. Awks.
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott
After meeting on the celeb circuit, Sam brought Love Islander Zara onto MiC with him (despite her being very much not from Chelsea) in 2019 as he returned from a break from filming. Cue VERY awkward exchanges with his ex, Tiffany, who also picked that series to return. In September 2020 allegations of Zara cheating on Sam during her stint on The X Factor came to light (oh how the tables have turned, hey Sam?) and their dramz split is set to play out on the upcoming series.
Viewers soon took to Twitter in support of the couple, with one writing, “My heart literally breaks for Gareth and Ollie 💔 the world has so much catching up to do.”
Another added, “I'm so sad for Ollie and Gareth. It's beyond sad that in 2020 they're still facing so much homophobia.”
“Poor Ollie & Gareth – wherever you decide to do it, it will be special and memorable and all about you two and no one else,” remarked a third.
WATCH Spencer Matthews reveals Made in Chelsea secrets you need to know
READ MORE celeb news
Zara McDermott ignores backlash and insists 'love always wins' amid Sam Thompson cheating drama
Jamie Laing tells fans 'if you're squeamish don't look' as he shows off his Strictly injuries
Binky Felstead opens up about her miscarriage in 'heartbreaking' Instagram post
Ollie and Gareth were friends for ten years before their relationship turned romantic and they eventually got engaged.
The happy pair shared the news in The Times ‘Forthcoming Marriages’ section before Ollie opened up to his fans on social media.
He wrote, “I have known him for ten years, and at many of my most important life moments he was in the background. Earlier this year we realised that what we had both been looking for was standing in front of us all along, the greatest hint was probably that we already have the same surname.
“I have never been happier and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with someone who makes me smile like this every day! On Sunday I said yes xx @garethplocke"