Can Mark & Michelle make a long-distance marriage work?
Mark Wright parties with scantily-clad girls in Marbella as wife Michelle Keegan films Our Girl in South Africa The photos emerge a year after he was pictured chatting to a girl in a bikini during a stag do in Vegas Pals worry their relationship could be
hey’ve been hit T by rumours of marital trouble in the past, but continued to put on a united front. Now insiders close to Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan say the couple’s marriage is still far from perfect.
Mark, 30, was photographed just over a week ago with a group of girls in skimpy bikinis at an event in Marbella and pals say Michelle, who turned 30 last week, was upset by the pictures.
A source says: “Michelle has had enough of seeing Mark partying with scantily-clad girls. She was upset after seeing the photos and her emotions have been all over the place. It seems like they’re almost leading separate lives – Michelle’s filming has been intense and not very glam, while Mark always seems to be partying.”
PARTY LIFESTYLE
In a recent interview with a paper, Mark admitted that due to their schedules, the couple now only see each other once a month. And a source says Michelle is finding the distance between them increasingly hard. An insider says: “Michelle made it clear to Mark that it’s embarrassing seeing pictures of him partying with other girls while she’s hard at work. It’s not the first time photos like this have emerged and it’s humiliating for her. She’s warned him she wants it to stop. “Being so far away makes it difficult for her – she can’t stop thinking about what these girls may be after.
“Mark has been reassuring her she has nothing to worry about. He explained that he was just working in Marbella and was posing with fans for a photo. He’s told Michelle that she can absolutely trust him.”
However, to make matters worse, Mark recently posted a sexy shirtless Instagram selfie, which prompted flirty comments from female fans.
A source says: “Michelle was annoyed about Mark’s selfie. It’s bad enough seeing pictures of him showing off his body at parties. She can’t help but feel as if he’s welcoming female attention.”
The source adds that despite the pressure, the pair are committed to making their marriage a success – and Mark has said he’ll do whatever it takes to convince Michelle not to worry while she’s filming.
The insider adds: “Michelle’s been honest about her feelings and she and Mark have had long phone calls. Part of Mark’s job is doing appearances at clubs and he can’t ignore all his female fans. He’s begged Michelle to trust him and not worry. She’s accepted there’s not much she can do about their separation while she’s thousands of miles away in South Africa.”
The new pictures emerged just a year after he was snapped in a similar situation, which forced Michelle to deny that their marriage was in trouble.
A spokesperson for the actress said at the time: “Michelle is happy for Mark to go away with his friends while she is working on Our Girl.”
In those photos, Mark was seen lapping up the attention from a girl in a bikini as he partied at Drai’s Beach Club in Vegas with friends in June. Closer reported at the time that there were tensions between Mark and Michelle – they’d spent six months apart on different continents for work shortly after marrying in 2015.
Talking about their jobs last month, Mark said: “She is going to be in South Africa on and off until next year and I’m going to be in LA, so we’re making sure we see each other once a month. When we do see each other, it is really special, although when I visit her on set she has to work.”
WORK PRESSURES
Meanwhile, the source says Michelle fears their worklife balance could make the situation worse. A pal adds: “Michelle knows there’s a lot of pressure on them.”
Mark earned a reputation as a love-rat when he was dating Lauren Goodger and Lucy Mecklenburgh on TOWIE. In 2011, Lucy claimed she’d kissed Mark while he was still engaged to Lauren, though he publicly denied this. Later that year, Mark confessed to having slept with Lucy while she was dating Mario Falcone.
Last August, though, Mark called rumours he’d cheated on Michelle “absolute nonsense.”
❛Michelle Made it clear it’s embarrassing seeing pictures of him partying❜