Married At First Sight UK couple: “We’ve had a baby thanks to the show!”
Ally Acklan and Paul Todd are yet to walk down the aisle after their wedding on Married At First Sight was cancelled due to Covid-19 – but they haven’t let that stop them...
Looking at her fiancé Paul cuddling their two-month-old baby daughter, Ally feels so lucky.
Ally Acklan, 36, and Paul Todd, 33, were due to get married on last year’s series of Married At First Sight UK – but the ceremony was cancelled three days before their big day in March 2020, due to the pandemic.
But Paul was determined to still meet Ally and begged the producers for her number. They had a whirlwind romance and now share baby Penelope.
DETERMINED
Ally, who lives with train driver Paul in Weston-super-Mare, says, “I feel so grateful. I put my faith in the experts to find me the perfect husband and they succeeded!”
However, the couple admit that, if they’d seen the present series of the show, neither of them would have applied.
Ally says, “We were both looking for love and marriage. Previous series were more of a documentary format. This series seems more explosive, full of drama, and is more of a reality TV show like Love Island. . I think that would have put me off.”
Ally applied for the programme after watching previous series of the hit show.
She says, “I’d had a four-year relationship that ended in my 20s and, since then, had a few short-lived romances. I loved the idea that experts would find my perfect match and I told them I wanted someone kind, loving and romantic. In January last year, the show’s psychologist said they’d found Paul and I was so excited to meet him.
“When our wedding was cancelled, I was devastated. I’d already found my dress – an ivory fishtail gown – and even enjoyed a hen party with my four bridesmaids. Although
I’d never met Paul, I already thought of him as my husband.”
Paul was equally devastated and begged producers to put them in touch. The following week, they met over Skype.
“I was so nervous,” admits Ally. “But when I first saw Paul, I thought, ‘Wow, he’s attractive’. The conversation just flowed.”
After that, they had threehour Skype calls every day, chatting about their lives, and they slowly fell in love.
Ally says, “We’re both sure that if we’d got married on the programme, we’d still be together, but this way there was no pressure and I think it was easier.”
The couple finally met when restrictions lifted in July 2020 and they’d already decided that Ally was going to bubble up with Paul in Somerset.
She says, “I was working remotely in my insurance job so it was easy to move in. He came to pick me up and I jumped in the car and kissed him. The chemistry was definitely there.
“Over the next few weeks, we cooked for one another, took Paul’s labradoodle Ozzy for walks, and I met his friends.”
Before meeting the couple had discussed having children and agreed they’d wait for a year, but last October Ally was shocked to realise she was pregnant.
She says, “It was a huge surprise, but a happy one.”
LOVING
Ally had a tough pregnancy as she suffered from severe morning sickness.
“I could barely get out of bed at times,” she recalls. “Paul was so loving and caring that I felt closer to him than ever.”
And, in June 2020, Paul proposed while they were having a picnic on the beach.
Ally says, “We should have been married for over a year, but I was still surprised! I burst into tears of happiness. We’re going to wait until 2023 as I’ll find planning the wedding stressful. That was part of the charm of going on MAFS – they’d have done it for me!”
Their baby, Penelope, arrived on 3 July weighing 8lbs 1oz.
Ally says, “I found my Mr
Right and have had a baby thanks to a TV show. I hope the couples on this series are as lucky.”
By Mel Fallowfield
● Follow Ally and Paul on Instagram @unseen_couple
I FOUND MY MR RIGHT – I HOPE THE COUPLES ON THIS SERIES ARE AS LUCKY