Inside Molly-Mae's Kremlin-style comeback: There was nothing 'real' about what I saw and PR heavies were everywhere. Then she was asked if Tommy Fury split was stunt... and her answer says it all, writes GRANT TUCKER
As press conferences go, it was more suited to the corridors of the Kremlin. But the tightly controlled media management I witnessed yesterday wasn’t for an all-powerful dictator like Vladimir Putin.
No, it was for a much more unlikely figure: the runner-up of 2019’s Love Island, influencer Molly-Mae Hague.
The 25-year-old is the star of a new ‘tell-all’ reality show for Amazon Prime, which promises to ‘take viewers beyond the headlines to uncover the real Molly-Mae, following her journey after her highly publicised break-up’.
But there was nothing ‘real’ about yesterday’s proceedings.
No doubt to avoid any difficult or awkward subject areas - namely her split from fiance Tommy Fury, 25 - journalists were told to submit questions for Molly-Mae days in advance.
Presumably they were then vetted by a committee to ensure we were getting Molly-Mae at her most authentic - or not, as the case proved to be.
Arriving at five-star hotel The Londoner in Leicester Square, I was reminded that filming and taking pictures of any kind during the Q&A was ‘strictly prohibited’.
Clearly the social media princess did not want her eight million Instagram followers to see photographs that had not been pre-approved.
Molly-Mae found fame on ITV's hit show Love Island, in which she was runner-up during the 2019 edition
Her Amazon Prime Video documentary is released on Friday
Once I received my golden wristband, I descended into the bowels of the luxury hotel where I was met by a friendly PR from no-nonsense agency Freuds. And then another. And another. There was a whole phalanx of agents to escort me to the Molly-Mae-appropriate juice buffet, serving either a green coconut water, spinach and kale concoction or a brown coconut yogurt with acai berries, pomegranate, toasted sesame seeds and blueberries, served in miniature tankards.
As I snaffled a few buttermilk scones with strawberry preserve and Chantilly cream, I cased the room to see that my fellow journalists had all been assigned their very own Molly-Mae PR chaperone too. A rather heavy-handed ratio.
We numbered around 20 - the chosen few - and were soon ushered to our seats with all the solemnity of a state funeral. The star of the show, we were told, was due to speak publicly for the first time since ‘The Split’.
For those not up to speed on the Molly-Mae Hague saga, the Cheshire-born teenager became the most successful contestant ever to appear on ITV’s Love Island, as runner-up with the ‘love of her life’ Mancunian boxer - and brother of world heavyweight Tyson - Tommy Fury.
On leaving the villa and being snapped up for a huge array of lucrative brand collaborations, the pair revelled in their riches - Molly-Mae buying a £4million mansion in Manchester.
They also started a family, welcoming daughter Bambi in 2023.
But last year, five years after their romance first began - and just three weeks after she had marked their one-year engagement anniversary with a sweet post on Instagram - fans were left devastated when the Love Island icons suddenly announced it was all over.
Molly-Mae wrote: ‘I am extremely upset to announce that mine and Tommy’s relationship has come to an end. I will forever be grateful for the most important thing to me now and always, my beautiful daughter. Without us there would be no her, she will always be my priority.’
The documentary, Behind It All, is set to provide an in-depth observation of Molly-Mae's daily life
Hague has sought to make her daughter, Bambi, a priority despite her busy schedule
Distraught fans went into overdrive online as they speculated over what could have ended their fairytale love story, likening it to the Prince Charles and Princess Diana split.
While Fury fiercely denied cheating on his fiancee, he has admitted that his drinking problem played a part in their downfall.
But the split has not been an acrimonious one. The former couple have since been pictured together so many times, some are now questioning whether it was all just a publicity stunt.
Speculation has reached fever pitch in recent weeks as the pair were filmed kissing at midnight at a New Year’s Eve party.
Molly-Mae has suggested that their reunion might be shown in the six-part documentary, insisting it’s all ‘real’.
So now - finally - it was time for Molly-Mae to tell her version of events.
As the clock struck 12pm at the Q&A, there was still no sign of the influencer - leaving me to admire the Molly-Mae-themed decor. Cream curtains covered the wall and there were two huge displays of white roses, all reflected in the mirrored ceiling, giving the room an air of a 1970s disco meets local crematorium.
Five minutes later a hush descended upon the room, as Molly-Mae - flanked by bodyguards without a blonde, blow-dried hair out of place - finally graced us with her presence.
Hague was previously engaged to Tommy Fury, who is the father of her daughter
The pair shared a New Year's kiss, sparking rumours they may be back together
The reality star, wearing a pin-striped zipped jacket and black trousers, hurriedly took her seat as not one but two camera crews emerged - one to film for the Amazon series, another wielding an iPhone for her two million YouTube followers. I am now officially part of the Molly-Mae reality circus.
Frost to Molly-Mae’s Nixon is Demi Doyle, the executive producer of the Amazon series who would conduct the interrogation - sorry ‘press Q&A’.
I brace myself for a dazzling sucker punch of a first question.
‘Why do you think you decided to do it?’ she asks Molly-Mae.
Hmmm. Perhaps she was lulling her in, making her feel comfortable before surprising her with a zinger. But the dull questions continued.
‘What do you think people would expect from the series?’
‘Do you feel nervous about this going out?’
‘Do you think there’s anything anyone will be shocked by?’
Molly-Mae, as poised and well-rehearsed as anyone I have ever seen at The National Theatre, told us that the new series, for which she has reportedly been paid millions, will ‘let people in, in a way that I haven’t before’. Which is surprising coming from a vlogger who has posted every facet of her young life online since she was a teenager.
All of Molly-Mae’s answers were the same, with her repeatedly saying how ‘honest’ she has been.
I will have to take her word for it because, of course, due to the highly confidential nature of the show, we have not been permitted to watch the series before sitting down with its star. She reassured us again that she has been ‘very, very open’, ‘very, very honest’ and is a ‘girl who wears her heart on her sleeve’.
Could this series be the biggest confessional since Bill Clinton confirmed his relations with Monica Lewinsky?
Fear not - it’s not all heartbreak and introspection.
The former Love Islander did give talk about the hilarious scenes we can look forward to watching.
‘I think like the things that you film candidly and the things that you don’t expect are going to be filmed that day, they’re always the best parts of the documentary and the funniest bits are the bits that you don’t plan for,’ Molly-Mae informed us.
‘I’m like talking through my wardrobe and I’m like, “oh yeah, I’ve just got these outfits”. And then, I noticed on the bottom of these cream pants, there’s just like a smooshed avocado on the bottom of the pants because they’ve not been washed properly!’
She also enthusiastically tells the interviewer that her cats Eggy and Bread peed on her carpet.
Jeremy Paxman can rest easy.
Ever the shrewd businesswoman, her new fashion brand Maebe also got a dozen mentions, and, as she emphasised, it is her priority for the year ahead.
‘And obviously my daughter,’ she hastily added.
When she was finally asked about the split and whether it was a publicity stunt, she goes full Meghan Markle, taking a deep breath and fluttering her eyelashes.
‘I wish it was a publicity stunt,’ she said, eyes wide. ‘Because it would have been a lot easier.’
But what about that New Year’s kiss?
‘We are navigating a really complicated time in both our lives in the public eye,’ she said. ‘The last thing I ever want is any confusion, I don’t want people to feel confused by things that were going on.’
Definitely no confusion there.
Well, with that settled, the 25-minute charade is nearly over, but not before she tells us that fans have been inundating her with messages saying they have booked the day off so they can binge the first three episodes when they are released tomorrow.
‘It should be given as a Bank Holiday, I love it!’ she enthused. ‘That would be iconic.’
I can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Rachel Reeves as she contends with Britain’s productivity crisis.
Before I am released, we journalists are ordered into a single-file queue to get what she assumed we all came for.
Not the truth behind the split of Gen Z’s Prince Charles and Diana. But a selfie with the queen of self.
