Millie Mackintosh has branded the wealthy 'lifestyle' shown on Made In Chelsea as 'fabricated' and reveals she commuted to the west London filming location by public transport after being cast completely by chance.
A Chance Encounter with Fame
The TV personality, 36, shot to fame after securing a leading role in the massively successful E4 programme in 2011, with her private life documented on camera throughout five series before she ultimately left. However, she insists the luxurious lifestyles shown on screen bore little resemblance to reality, and discloses she wasn't even a Chelsea resident when she secured her role.
"I wasn't involved in the pilot episode but I knew some of the people that were," she told the Olivia's House podcast with Olivia Attwood. "In our group of friends we'd heard these whispers, we didn't really know what it was, but there was some kind of thing being filmed."
She added: "They'd actually filmed the pilot and they were looking at all the castmates. The researchers would go onto their Facebook pages and look at who they were friends with, and then they would try to reach out to people and send them a private message and be like, 'can we meet you?'"
"I was living with a flatmate and she had an audition and they were chatting to her in the flat and I was getting ready for a date and I walked out in my underwear and was like shall I wear this outfit or this and was talking about my dating life and they were like you need to be on this show."
"I wanted to be on Britain's Next Top Model and I'd interviewed a lot but didn't make the last round, so I took the audition for Made In Chelsea and got it."
The Reality Behind the Glamour
Millie was regularly filmed turning up to parties and swanky venues stepping out of luxury cars, yet she reveals the behind-the-scenes reality was far more modest. "My first day of MIC I got the bus to filming and they made me get in a Bentley and they filmed us getting out and going into a nightclub," she recalled. "The lifestyle... I wasn't even living in Chelsea! We were going out and partying and drinking a lot, so that part definitely wasn't exaggerated."
Now four years sober, Millie admits her time on the programme also fuelled an unhealthy dependence on alcohol, ultimately leading her to quit drinking in 2022. "I was already going out and enjoying myself quite a lot," she recalled. "But then, suddenly the pressure of being on TV, and those scenes where sometimes you'd be confronting someone and it would be really uncomfortable. I definitely would be drinking - I'd be drinking before [filming a scene]. Those drink throws didn't happen when I was sober."
Leaving the Show and Personal Life
The television personality appeared across five series of the show before choosing to walk away after beginning a new romance with her first husband, rapper Professor Green, following her split from fellow cast member Hugo Taylor. "I'd gone through a really painful breakup and at that point I was just finding the whole thing really difficult," she said. "And then when I met somebody new and knew that relationship wasn't going to be filmed, it just didn't make sense anymore. I didn't want to be there just to comment on other people's drama."
The reality star went on to wed Green, real name Stephen Manderson, at Somerset's Babington House in 2013. However, the marriage ended three years later, and Millie later rekindled her romance with former boyfriend Hugo. The pair tied the knot at Chelsea Town Hall in 2018, two years following her split from Green.
A mum to daughters Sienna Grace and Aurelia Violet with her second husband, Millie is currently single having confirmed their separation in March. Olivia acknowledged that the recent breakdown of her own marriage to footballer Bradley Dack mirrored her latest podcast guest's experience. "We've been Instagram friends," she said. "We've been DMing back and forth, especially over the last couple of weeks. We've both been in the trenches."
"Everything you've posted, I've been like, 'I feel you,'" replied Millie. "Every day is different, it's a journey. It's definitely a life is life thing, but I'm focused on all the positive things in my life, and there's lots of exciting things going on. Most days I actually feel good."
