BILLIE FAIERS AND GREG SHEPHERD
WITH THEIR ADORABLE CHILDREN AS THEY REVEAL WHAT LIFE IS LIKE IN THE PUBLIC EYE
From her unassuming first appearance as ‘Sam’s sister’ nine years ago on The Only Way Is Essex, Billie Faiers, her husband Greg Shepherd and their two children Nelly and Arthur are now well and truly British reality TV royalty. Such is Billie and Greg’s popularity that more than a million of us tuned in to watch them say ‘I do’ on their ITVBE show The Mummy Diaries and they boast a combined Instagram following of over 2.4 million! They’re even having to move house for more security and their children are now considered ‘kiddy influencers’!
‘People do compare us to the Kardashians, which is very flattering but I’m not sure we’re there yet’ laughs Billie as her blonde hair is curled and her face contoured for our OK! shoot.
Billie and Greg have been celebrities in their hometown of Brentwood for many years, but since sharing their wedding on TV and exclusively in the pages of OK!, their fame has catapulted.
‘I can’t pop out for a sandwich without being asked for a selfie,’ says banker Greg, while Billie reveals that she was even asked for Mummy Diaries gossip in the nurse’s office!
Did a younger Billie ever dare to dream she would still be making a career in the spotlight after those early appearances on TOWIE? ‘For Samantha and I, the dream was always to have our own show. Don’t get me wrong, it comes with its ups and downs but it’s amazing to have achieved our dream and get paid for just being ourselves,’ she says.
Billie and Greg are realistic about the down sides of fame, though, and say they’d step straight out of the limelight if it ever affected their children Nelly, who turns five next week, and two-year-old Arthur. ‘If I felt it was negatively affecting Nelly or Arthur then I’d take them off the show in a heartbeat,’ says Billie, while Greg adds: ‘We always prioritise our family above the show.’
Here the couple reveal all about their rise to fame, Nelly’s ideas for Youtube domination and their plan B if the fame bubble bursts…
Since your TOWIE beginnings, you guys have become reality TV royalty… Billie: Why, thank you!
Greg: [Laughing] That’s not the first time I’ve heard that!
The UK’S answer to the Kardashians, if you will…
Billie: [To Greg] Come on then, Scott. Greg is definitely Scott [Disick].
Greg: I don’t have any velvet monogrammed loafers, though – Russell & Bromley is about as classy as I get.
Billie: And Sue [Billie and Sam’s mum, Suzanne Wells] can be Kris. Although, actually we call Samantha Kris Jenner. Greg: Sam thinks she’s the boss.
Billie: She has a vision for the Faiers brand. If Greg uploads drunken Instagrams she’ll call me to get him to take them down. She says it’s not very good for the family image. But it’s all very tongue in cheek.
Greg: She wants us to keep it clean. You’ve got to keep it real as well, though. We don’t hide anything. We’re 100 per cent honest.
Billie: How you see us on the show is how we are at home. When you work with us that’s how we are. For instance, Greg and I had a row in front of the make-up artist this morning.
Do more people recognise you since your wedding? Greg: Definitely. For me more than Billie, even.
Billie: He’s going to get a big head.
Greg: I get recognised in the city on the way to work more than on Brentwood High Street. I can’t pop out for a sandwich without being asked for a selfie!
Billie: Greg thinks he’s the Wolf of Wall Street.
Have you noticed a big change as well, Billie?
I often hear people whispering ‘that’s Billie Faiers’. But since the wedding I get a lot of people stopping me, just to chat about the wedding. It’s very flattering. People also love to chat to us when we’re out as a family of four. I like that they feel like they know us.
Does it ever feel intrusive?
Billie: Sometimes, if we’ve got stuff to do or the kids are playing up. But you have to make time for your fans as they’re the people who put us where we are. We’d never say no to a selfie.
What is the strangest place you’ve been recognised?
Billie: The nurse who fitted my coil was asking me for Mummy Diaries gossip while I had my legs akimbo!
Have you ever felt uncomfortable with the attention?
Billie: Sometimes people will ask for a picture just with Nelly, which I don’t necessarily mind
but I always check Nelly is happy with it. If she’s feeling shy or overwhelmed then I’ll say no and offer a picture with me instead.
Greg: Now Nelly’s at school we have to be more careful as the older girls watch the show.
Billie: I wouldn’t ever want her to feel embarrassed about being herself. If Nelly ever said she didn’t want to film or if I felt it was negatively affecting her or Arthur, then I’d take them off the show in a heartbeat.
Greg: We always prioritise our family above the show. Nelly and Arthur come before fame.
Is the fact your house is recognisable from The Mummy Diaries behind your decision to move house?
Billie: We often get people slowing down outside and pointing so we would like more security at our next house. But more than that we just need more space.
Greg: We want our next house to be more private with gates and security, but we need to stay local for Nelly’s school.
Do you feel proud of how far you’ve come? Billie: On TOWIE I was always ‘Sam’s sister’ but now we’re popular in our own right, which does make me proud. For Samantha and I, the dream was always to have our own show. Don’t get me wrong, it comes with its ups and downs but it’s amazing to have achieved our dream and get paid for just being ourselves. People do compare us to the Kardashians, which is really flattering.
Greg, you seem more comfortable in front of the cameras than Sam’s boyfriend
Paul Knightley…
Billie: Greg revels in his new-found fame whereas Paul is less comfortable and confident.
Greg: But that’s half of what makes the show popular – if we were all the same it would be boring.
Billie: You’re either natural on camera or you’re not; Greg really enjoys it whereas Paul doesn’t.
Greg: There’s no rivalry whatsoever, we’re just different – two completely different family dynamics.
Billie: Paul doesn’t let any nasty criticism he receives get to him – it’s harder for Samantha, as when you love someone you’re incredibly protective of them.
Billie says of having more children: ‘As much as I’d love to have another one, life is just too busy at the moment’
We hear Sam is having therapy to deal with her trichotillomania [a condition where sufferers feel the urge to pull out their own hair, in Sam’s case her eyelashes]... Billie: She’s so brave seeking help for the condition and the fact she’s doing it for the children, I’m really proud of her.
Greg, are you still working full time?
I’ve got my own company so I can be flexible about my hours and I make time for filming and events.
Billie: Greg would never fully stop working.
Greg: You don’t know when this bubble of fame is going to burst so you’ve got to be sensible.
Billie: That’s why I keep up side projects like My Nelly and Minnies Boutique.
Do you get offered influencer opportunities now, Greg?
We were both recently invited on a trip to Cannes with Givenchy. Lots of the other influencers on the trip brought their ‘Instagram husbands’ – it didn’t look like a bad life to me! I have to step up my photo-taking game; they all had big SLR cameras and I used my iphone.
Were you flattered to be invited? Billie: Initially, I was like: ‘Are you sure you’ve got the right people?’ Greg: It was incredible, we didn’t spend a penny the entire time we were there!
Billie: We had hair and make-up every day, gifts in our room, amazing parties, boat trips. Although it did mean two nights away from the kids.
If the show ended tomorrow, would you consider becoming a full-time influencer? Billie: Potentially. But when I do paid posts, I only agree to work with brands that I genuinely love and believe in, it’s really important to stay true to who you are.
Do you think Nelly and Arthur are ‘kiddy influencers’?
Billie: We’re very lucky, I don’t have to buy a lot of clothes and toys. But generally I put things away for their birthdays. I don’t want them thinking it’s normal to receive a constant stream of presents.
If Nelly said she wanted to follow in your footsteps, what would you say?
Greg: She wants her own Youtube channel already! We jokingly do The Daddy And Nelly Show but it’s not serious.
Billie: Everybody says she’s going to be a little star but she has lots of other interests, too. She does ballet and gymnastics and she’s about to start horse riding.
Have you heard about next year’s TOWIE ten-year reunion show? Billie: I haven’t heard much about it to be honest. Greg: I heard Mark Wright is doing it – I can’t envisage him going from interviewing Elton John to filming TOWIE, but who knows!
When you and Sam appeared on This
Morning to promote The Mummy Diaries,
Phillip Schofield really pressed you on how much you paid for your wedding…
Billie: I was in shock. Prior to our appearance, I’d been very clear that I don’t talk about money. It’s rude and it’s nobody’s business but ours.
Greg: We should ask Phillip Schofield how much he earns!
Billie: They were trying to insinuate that we got the wedding for free, which is so far from the truth. We saved for our dream wedding for years.
Is your relationship different since tying the knot?
Greg: [To Billie] I’m a bit more obsessed with you… and she says things like: ‘Make me a tea, Hubby.’ Billie: The wedding was the missing piece of the puzzle. We feel closer than ever before.
Do you think a third child is on the cards? Billie: Maybe…
Greg: Maybe not!
Billie: As much as I’d love to have another one, life is just too busy at the moment. Unless I stepped down from some work commitments, I wouldn’t have time.
‘how you see us on the show is how we are at home’