The newlyweds’ dream home that could become a nightmare
A Cardiff couple might regret taking part in property programme Honey I Bought the House after the husband’s decisions resulted in his wife breaking down in tears on camera. Harry Yorke reports
BUYING a first home together is a test for any relationship – so imagine entrusting that decision to your other half and letting them buy a house without you even seeing it.
That’s exactly what Siobhan Tumelty agreed to, with the added strain of having the whole ordeal filmed for a new TV show, and predictably the experiment did not go well for the 28-year-old.
In fact, when she saw the “dive that smells of damp and fags” that Jack Shipman had purchased she began questioning their entire relationship.
Recently-married Siobhan broke down in tears on new Watch TV show Honey I Bought The House after her unwitting husband purchased a Cardiff house which she didn’t like the look – or smell – of.
The show offers couples £15,000 towards their first home but only on the condition that just one of them makes the life-changing decision.
And it seems Jack, 32, a technician and nightclub-goer, did not meet his new wife’s brief when he bought a house in Splott covered in mould and smelling of cigarette smoke.
Just one week after tying the knot the unimpressed bride said she “absolutely hated” the house before launching into a sobbing fit and questioning how well her new husband knew her – if at all.
The bride had been explicitly clear that she wanted a property ready to live in so they could start trying for a baby.
But Jack had other ideas – purchasing the run-down property within their £150,000 budget with the intention of renovating the house. Siobhan told her new hus- band she had wanted him to find them a property in Caerphilly.
She said: “I absolutely hate that house – there is nothing about it I like.
“If he is blinded by the fact it has four bedrooms then he is crazy. We are going to spend all our money on the problems and end up living on a picnic table and deck chairs.
“Did you think at all about kids and how long it would take to be able to have a family here?”
But Jack said the task of renovating the property would be their “baby” now before adding that it was a “good size house with a few issues but we could work our way around doing a room at a time”.
The response did not go down well with his still-fuming wife who said she “felt stupid” for trusting her party-going husband with such responsibility.
In the end, Jack was able to talk his wife around to his way of thinking, convincing her that the property was a “good old Victorian house” in need of some investment.
Facing the prospect of moving back to her uncle’s house if she didn’t consent, Siobhan was persuaded to go through with the deal – meaning they secured the £15,000 from the show.