The Love Island star offers her thoughts on pyjamas, her fashion brand, her favourite order at McDonald’s … in a TV show that’s surprisingly carefully produced.
Molly-Mae: Behind It All is a Keep Calm and Carry On poster in the form of a beige, hyperbolic, strangely enthralling documentary. It was supposed to be about Molly-Mae Hague’s wedding to Tommy Fury, but after their breakup in August 2023, it has been repurposed into a documentary about her new life as a single mother and businesswoman, about to launch her first fashion brand.
Most people will be tuning in to find out the gossip. The headlines will be that they clashed over Fury’s drinking habits, that Hague released the statement about their breakup to make sure that she actually broke up with him, and that she still holds out hope of a reconciliation for their family.
Much like The Masked Singer, though, you could skip the first two-thirds of any episode and still see all the bits you need to see. To get to those, you must first learn more mundane details. “I wanna know what Molly-Mae gets at McDonald’s,” says a director, off-screen. Reader, we find out. She loves pyjamas – “a sacred part of life” – and is embarrassed to open a drawer full of belts that does not please her on an aesthetic level.
Such details have low stakes. They wash over you, inoffensively, and all of a sudden, three hours have gone by. The business of launching the fashion brand takes up a lot of screen time, as Hague frets about the launch party (the candles aren’t big enough and there is “a situation with the projector”) and worries about not being able to take pictures with all the guests.
It is easy, and lazy, to make this sound dull on paper. Hague is a massive star, with 8 million Instagram followers. This is as carefully produced as Hague’s own posts. It is mostly sympathetic, and reveals just enough to give the impression of intimacy. The only dud note, for me, is what Hague calls “the blazer situation”. Despite a much-hyped sellout launch for the clothing line, one of the first products is heavily criticised for being quick to bobble. This affects Hague’s confidence, we are told, and people can’t see how their comments upset her. But when people are unhappy with products they have paid for, it comes across as a little myopic.
