OK! (UK)

Love Island HUSBAND AND WIFE ALEX AND OLIVIA BOWEN

‘LOVE ISLAND’ STARS ALEX AND OLIVIA BOWEN ARE LOOKING PEACHY AS THEY CELEBRATE ONE YEAR OF WEDDED BLISS

- FEATURE BY KATIE LANGFORD-FOSTER PHOTOGRAPH­S BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICAT­IONS, INSTAGRAM

CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSAR­Y IN SANTORINI

Cheeky couple Alex Bowen and Olivia Buckland have been celebratin­g their first wedding anniversar­y by topping up their all-over tans! The former Love Island stars, whose lavish day was covered exclusivel­y by OK!, were enjoying a sun-soaked trip to Santorini to mark their marriage milestone.

‘I don’t know where the time has gone. I had really bad [post] wedding blues. I didn’t know what to do with myself,’ Olivia told us last week.

But has married life changed their relationsh­ip? Not much, says 27-year-old Alex. He tells OK!: ‘We’ve been so busy and we’re together all the time anyway, so nothing’s changed – sometimes I forget to say “wife” and she forgets to say Bowen instead of Buckland.’

‘I feel like I sound old when I say “husband”,’ laughs Olivia. But she adds: ‘Alex is a gentleman and not many men are like that these days.’

Following the success of their wedding documentar­y, which showed the lead up to the big day, the second instalment of their show hits TLC this week. The first Love Island stars to make it down the aisle, Alex and Olivia admit it’s been a testing time, mainly due to others’ expectatio­ns of them starting a family.

She explains: ‘It’s the pressure, not from Alex, but from everyone else. I understand why people want us to have a child, but I didn’t particular­ly feel like I wanted one at 24, and that’s when I was getting asked a lot. It stressed me out.’

However, now, at nearly 26, she says she’s ‘warming to the idea’ – if their schedules will allow it!

‘We talk about it. I get now why people want to start a family, but we’re just both so busy and we love what we’re doing at the moment.’

Olivia has been open in the past about her struggles with anxiety and tells OK!: ‘We talk about this on the show. It’s the best way to raise awareness... I even have a smear test on the show, in the hope that me being open will help others.’

And although she admits her emotional state is ‘quite calm at the moment’, she adds: ‘I came off anti-depressant­s a year and a half after Love Island, so I’ve been down that route. I’m not ready to go down the therapist route because I don’t want to know what they’d bring up. That’s just a personal choice. I like talking to Alex, my friends and my mum. That’s the best treatment for me.’

‘OLIVIA & ALEX: HAPPILY EVER AFTER PREMIERES’ AT 9PM FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, on EXCLUSIVEL­Y ON TLC.

 ??  ?? Below: Enjoying the sunset in Santorini. Top: Stripping off by the (private!) pool
Below: Enjoying the sunset in Santorini. Top: Stripping off by the (private!) pool
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 ??  ?? Right: The couple’s reality TV programme will show life after ‘I do’. Far right and below: Olivia posted some holiday snaps online
Right: The couple’s reality TV programme will show life after ‘I do’. Far right and below: Olivia posted some holiday snaps online
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