Few actuality TV {couples} have captured the nations consideration fairly like Molly Smith and Tom Clare. After profitable the very first sequence of Love Island: All Stars in 2024, their whirlwind villa romance become a real-world love story – and now, an engagement!
However they’re not simply planning their large day alone – they’re inviting the general public alongside for the journey.
The couple are stepping right into a brand-new chapter because the hosts of Nearlyweds with Molly & Tom, the connection podcast initially fronted by Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo. Swapping solar loungers for studio mics, Molly and Tom are inviting listeners inside their journey from actuality TV sweethearts to real-life fiancés – sharing the highs, the sincere moments, and all the pieces in between as they put together for married life.
As they take over the reins, we sit down with the Love Island legends to speak engagement life, navigating love within the public eye, and what followers can count on from this new period of Nearlyweds…
Molly and Tom, congratulations in your engagement! Given how a lot of your lives play out within the public eye, if you strip away the social media gloss and the hype round your relationship, how does it really feel to be engaged? It’s such a big, real-life milestone.
Molly: It feels superb! It’s such an exquisite feeling realizing you’ve discovered your eternally individual.
Tom: We really feel actually fortunate – fortunate to have discovered one another, and fortunate to be as comfortable as we’re collectively, as a result of not everyone will get to expertise the type of love we have now for one another, and that truly makes me really feel actually unhappy, as a result of I would like everybody to have what we have now.
Molly: We’re so grateful to be doing life collectively aren’t we?
Tom: Completely! We’re using the wave, and having fun with being in an engagement bubble.
Rising up, was marriage one thing you each all the time dreamed of or imagined for yourselves?
Tom: If I stated ‘no’ – Molly would kill me (laughs).
Molly: TOM! Personally, I’ve all the time envisioned getting married, and having that basis of a husband and a household at dwelling. And regardless of him joking round now, I do know that’s what Tom needs too, as a result of it’s one thing he’s all the time talked about and been very sincere about.
Tom: We’re each lucky in the truth that we grew up with our mother and father being collectively, so in a method you possibly can’t assist however take a look at that and never need the identical in your individual life. To satisfy somebody and have a household with them is 100% one thing I’ve all the time dreamed of.
How has being engaged modified the dynamic of your relationship, if in any respect?
Molly: Between the 2 of us, how we stay and the way we handle our day after day lives, I don’t suppose something’s modified that a lot to be sincere with you.
Tom: Besides the truth that Molly does all the pieces with left hand now…
Molly: (laughs) yeah I’m swiftly left handed girlie now he’s put a hoop on it! If something has modified in our relationship, I’d say it’s simply the truth that there’s this new degree of pleasure between us, as we begin to plan the marriage, and picture what the times going to be like.
Tom: An engagement undoubtedly solidifies the standing of a relationship doesn’t it? It’s an enormous step ahead, as you’re making an actual dedication to at least one one other, and saying that you simply’re critical about being collectively eternally, which I personally actually like. I needed Molly to know that this was it, and that I used to be all in… and I needed to place a hoop on her finger.
It’s been six months since Tom’s epic proposal, and your schedules appear busier than ever – why did this really feel like the best second to step in and take the reins of the Nearlyweds podcast?
Molly: I feel the timing is ideal, I actually do. When the thought was first put to us, we each say ‘sure’ instantly! It’s a superb alternative, and we’d have been loopy to have turned it down.
Tom: We each actually love Jamie and Sophie. It was really Jamie who reached out and requested us personally if we needed to do it, and we actually couldn’t imagine it, as a result of actually it’s a podcast we hearken to so much after we’re driving backwards and forwards to London.
Molly: It was fairly overwhelming at first wasn’t it? Like Tom stated, we’re such large followers of the podcast, I imply I bear in mind us making an attempt to get tickets for the stay tour (laughs). So it’s very surreal to suppose we’re the brand new ‘nearlyweds’.
Tom: However we’re not in any method, form or kind taking on or changing Sophie and Jamie, we’re simply approaching board to share our story.
By way of the general really feel of the pod, are you going for extra of a “no filter” vibe, or are their sure elements of your relationship you wish to defend and preserve personal?
Tom: I feel there are elements to each relationship that you simply prefer to preserve personal, after all! However by way of what we share and say on the podcast… it’s very uncooked! As a result of in addition to speaking in regards to the engagement, and the marriage, we additionally discuss all the different issues occurring in our lives as nicely, so there are moments when we have now to ‘go there’ and get slightly bit critical. However general I’d say there’s a very good stability of overlaying the great instances, the dangerous instances, the comfortable instances, and the instances if you possibly fall out… it’s all in there. I like that although, as a result of that’s actual life, that’s actuality! Social media has made it troublesome for folks to know that I feel. Folks prefer to submit a snapshot of their lives on-line that solely captures the great, and that isn’t a real reflection of how anyones life is. So I like that we’re exhibiting a special aspect to our lives and personalities.
Molly: We each come from a actuality background, I imply… the beginning of our relationship was on proven on nationwide TV (laughs) so I feel at this level we’re each fairly used to sharing most issues. As people, and as a pair we have been very open and uncooked throughout our time on the present (Love Island), so my feeling is, why not proceed with that honesty on the podcast? It’s good to provide folks that perception.
You might have such a superb, and distinctive story to inform…
Molly: We love that our journey collectively has been captured and documented from the start. It’s like a pleasant little time capsule that we’ll have the ability to preserve eternally. Sooner or later, if we do have youngsters, we’ll have the ability to sit them down and present them how we met… really I don’t know if we’ll wish to do that can we?
Tom: Oh I’ll! Our children are going to look at all the pieces!
‘Nearlyweds’ is all about giving listeners a window into your world and exhibiting what planning a marriage is actually like. So, let’s get straight to the vital query: are you laid-back planners, or are you already buried deep in Pinterest boards and spreadsheets?
Tom: I feel we’re a little bit of each… don’t you?
Molly: Yeah I feel so! We stability one another out, so if I’m ever going off on one, Tom can calm me down and vice versa.
What do you hope listeners take away from the pod?
Molly: That planning a marriage isn’t all the time straightforward, good or glamorous. You possibly can’t all the time get or have what you need, and that’s okay. We’ve actually tried to be as uncooked and sincere as potential. The fact is, that is the primary time both of us has ever deliberate a marriage, and so we don’t actually know what we’re doing! There’s so much to navigate, and also you come up towards issues on a regular basis that you simply wouldn’t think about being an issue… however they’re (laughs). So we’re studying so much, and we’re hoping that anyone on the market who’s planning a marriage themselves, listens and may relate… and possibly be taught from a few of our errors.
Marriage is all about two folks coming collectively as one, so I’m curious – what have been these first conversations like if you began discussing the type of wedding ceremony you needed? Did your visions differ in any respect?
Molly: Are you aware what? On the entire I’d say, to this point, so good… however we’ve clearly nonetheless acquired numerous planning and work to do, so who is aware of, in a couple of weeks time we’d hit a couple of obstacles! Don’t get me incorrect although, it’s not all been plain crusing, and there have been a couple of little issues we’ve disagreed on that we speak about on the podcast…
Tom: Just one or two (laughs). For me personally, I don’t know if I’d ever actually had a imaginative and prescient for a way I needed my wedding ceremony to be. Now I’m planning it, I’m realising there’s so much to contemplate. I say it on a regular basis on podcast, I feel it’s good to have a girl’s enter and contact on issues, as a result of I don’t know if numerous guys take into consideration all the small particulars that may actually make a day that further bit particular.
Molly: I feel it’s good if at the least one individual within the relationship has a little bit of a imaginative and prescient, as a result of if neither of you do, you then’re slightly bit screwed (laughs).
Relating to ensuring selections or managing the finances, do you ever have to tug one another again if one in all you will get slightly too carried away?
Tom: The straightforward reply to this query is… sure!
Molly: I’d say I’m extra a let’s do it and take into consideration the implications (and the price of issues) later type of individual, so…
Tom: Yeah Molly’s actually good at lady math, and never so good on the type of maths we have been taught in class.
Molly: The lady math ain’t mathing typically I’ll admit (laughs). Tom’s simply extra of a realist than me…
Tom: …yeah, as a result of I see what’s going out of our joint checking account (laughs).
Have you ever discovered something new about one another all through this entire wedding ceremony planning course of?
Tom: We’ve undoubtedly learnt that we’re each perfectionists! We mull over very single element, regardless of how tiny, to the purpose the place it’s ridiculous! Nevertheless it’s solely as a result of we wish the day itself to be good. Clearly, the marriage is about me and Molly, however we wish everyone there to really feel like they’re part of it too, so we have now to get issues proper.
Molly: It’s shocked me slightly bit at how chilled we’re about sure issues although! I assumed we’d get far more burdened about stuff… however I suppose it’s nonetheless early days isn’t it? The stress and the dramas would possibly nonetheless be incoming (laughs).
Are you able to give us any hints in regards to the wedding ceremony vibe – large and glamorous or intimate and relaxed?
Tom: It’s going to be a little bit of all the pieces…
Molly: …yeah, it is going to hopefully be an actual combination of huge and small moments.
With out giving an evidence, who’s extra hands-on with the planning?
Molly: Me.
Tom: Yeah, she’s the boss!
Who’s extra prone to sneak a chunk of wedding ceremony cake earlier than the official cake-cutting ceremony?
Molly: Tom!
Tom: Yeah, if there have been ever to be a large chunk of cake lacking, it’s most likely me who’s lower into it!
Molly: That’s effective… so long as you’re taking a chunk from the again! Please don’t lower into it on the entrance, and smash the images.
After dinner speeches – ought to they be heartfelt and conventional? Or scandalous and outrageous?
Tom: BOTH!
Molly: Oh no method! You need there to be scandalous and outrageous speeches at our wedding ceremony?
Tom: Yeah, however blended in with good bits too!
Molly: Oh no, I’d moderately they be a bit extra heartfelt and romantic.
When you might have one artist or band play on the reception who would it not be?
Molly: Bruno Mars!
Tom: That’s a very good shout! However I’m going to say Jason Derulo, as a result of we went to see a couple of weeks in the past and he was sick!
Molly: Yeah, he was superb wasn’t he?.. however I don’t fairly know if what he does is wedding ceremony applicable although? Possibly if he comes with out his dancers and simply sings then it is perhaps okay (laughs).
Have you ever picked the music on your first dance but?
Molly: No. We’ve acquired a couple of choices on the minute, however we’ve not absolutely determined what it is going to be but, we have to slender the checklist down…
Tom: What are you speaking about, it’s going to be The Excessive Faculty Musical theme tune! No, I’m solely kidding. We’ve had a couple of listens of some choices on Spotify, and we’ve put a little bit of a playlist collectively, however no selections have been made about that but.
Molly: There’s nonetheless time for a brand new music to come back out isn’t there? No matter we select I’m positive it is going to be good.
Will we see any of your wedding ceremony journey documented in different methods except for the pod?
Molly: Properly, Tom needs to take a GoPro on his stag do… and I’m all for it to sincere!
Tom: Are you able to think about having to look at that footage again!
Molly: Properly you’ve stated it now…
Tom: Erm… altering the topic! I feel there’s a plan for us to movie some vlogs that can go up on the ‘Nearlyweds’ social channels, so I feel that will probably be enjoyable and entertaining for folks to look at. Apart from that, we’ll simply have to attend and see…
Nearlyweds with Molly and Tom is out third March on YouTube and all podcast platforms
Tell us your ideas on Molly and Tom over on CelebMix socials now!
