TV dating show was 'like healing after divorce'
BBCAppearing on a family dating TV reality show has been described as a "healing process" by one set of father-and-daughter participants.
Chris Leahy, 47, and his daughter Ava, both from Hull, are starring in ITV's My Mum, Your Dad, which is billed as the "middle-aged Love Island" for single parents looking for love in a country house while under the gaze of their offspring.
The businessman, who has been divorced from Ava's mother for seven years, said it took "real guts" to be paraded "in front of millions of people".
The pair said while they have a close-knit bond, the experience shared together was "remarkable and special".
Without giving away any spoilers, the show follows eight single parents in a retreat while their children watch their every move and play Cupid from a nearby hideaway.
"But it’s so much more than that," said 17-year-old Ava.
"It wasn't necessarily just about the dating side, it was like healing after divorce. It's going from being married and kids to then coming back from that.
"It's almost like a grieving process and you've gone from having the whole world to essentially nothing and having to relearn everything and how to do it on your own."
She said seeing her father going on a "journey" was "such a beautiful thing to sit back and watch".
Mr Leahy said being followed by dozens of cameras in every room of the country house was "very nerve wracking" but despite this, they both had "the most amazing time".
"I want people to see me for who I am and if that means that they [feel] I'm a gentleman at the end of it, then that's it. That's already a big tick in the box."
The teenager said watching her father had given her a greater understanding of the difficulties of being a single parent.
"I think as a kid you're a bit naïve to the fact that your parents don't actually have this rule book on life.
"It's like, ‘oh, he actually doesn't have all the answers and he's kind of winging it as well as us’."
Mr Leahy, who runs a restaurant-bar in Cottingham, said he felt "really grateful" the show had brought him and his daughter "closer together".
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