Married At First Sight intruder Evelyn Ellis has commented on the photos of herself and noted misogynist Andrew Tate which resurfaced alongside her debut on MAFS 2023 this week.
If you’re wondering how Evelyn and Andrew know each other, it’s because they were both Big Brother UK housemates in 2016 (before Andrew was removed from the show amid abuse allegations). The photos of the pair holidaying in Thailand were from the same year.
Evelyn was just 18 at the time, living in the UK by herself with the hopes of becoming a model. She explained on PEDESTRIAN.TV’s We’ve Done The MAFS podcast that a “terrible agent” approached her and sent her the link to apply for Big Brother, saying he could get her modelling gigs.
“The next thing I remember is being blindfolded and thrown into a van and I’m about to go on stage in front of a roaring crowd,” Evelyn explained to We’ve Done The MAFS podcast hosts Jules Rangiheuea and Chantelle Schmidt.
“Although it seems like a good idea, at this time of my life, I was so insecure. You’re 18. Like, I didn’t know my left foot from my right.” Evelyn shared that her “self-worth was at an all-time low” in the house.
During her time on Big Brother UK, Evelyn made waves for making out another woman in the spa topless, while fellow Big Brother UK contestant Marco Pierre White Jnr instructed the two women on how to kiss and touch.
“Big Brother wasn’t my finest performance in life,” Evelyn shared. “Imagine being 18, ploughed with alcohol and then having cameras in your face and then going on live television,” Evelyn said, admitting that she’s definitely “got a few” regrets.
@pedestriantv #MAFS intruder Evelyn told us all about her first reality TV rodeo (among many other spicy things) in our latest episode of We’ve Done The MAFS on Spotify and 9Now. #mafsaustralia #mafs #marriedatfirstsight #evelynellis #ptv #wevedonethemafs
“I struggled a lot after when I left Big Brother. I don’t think I was mentally in the right place to sign myself up to be in a situation to be so vulnerable, especially so young as well,” Evelyn said.
“I’m still living through the Big Brother stuff. Now, after signing up to marry a stranger, I’m still seeing videos and pictures resurface from 10 years ago so for me that’s hard to rewatch. I don’t think I’m ever going to fully be completely okay with that.”
The photos she’s referring to are ones of her and fellow Big Brother housemate Andrew. The photo was of the pair on Andrew’s now nuked Instagram where they were location tagged in Koh Samui.
“Andrew and I were in the [Big Brother] house briefly at the same time, and he left early. We stayed friends and when Andrew was in my life and we were mates or whatever, he wasn’t Andrew Tate [that we know today],” Evelyn explained on the We’ve Done The MAFS podcast.
“He wasn’t this big controversial person that like the media goes on about,” she continued. “I think he knows what to say and what to do to get people rattled.”
Evelyn went on to clarify that they “definitely don’t keep in contact now.”
“One, he’s in jail. Two, it’s definitely my old life and I think his old life. It all kind of blew up out of nowhere and I can’t believe they found that photo and it’s resurfaced. I did not expect that at all,” Evelyn shared.
“If you ask 18-year-old me, if I saw this coming in the horizon, I’m like, ‘No, no way.’”
Evelyn believes she was more mentally prepared for Married At First Sight in a way that she wasn’t for Big Brother UK.
“It really took me a lot to be in mentally the right space to be vulnerable to put myself out there because I felt like last time, it went so badly and I was like picking up the pieces for many, many years, in all honesty.”
“I just know myself better. And you know, if there was an opportunity to meet someone cool and awesome and be myself and be loved for it, then why the hell not?”
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