Grace Adams-Short and her husband Mikey Dalton are still going strong 19 years after first meeting on Big Brother where they quickly fell in love.
The couple, who were on the same series as Nikki Grahame and Pete Bennett, got engaged just four months after the show ended and married in 2009.
Despite a string of romances that blossomed in front of viewers’ eyes across several series of the show, Grace and Mikey are the only couple still together today.
Grace, 39, and Mikey, 42, welcomed son Atticus in January 2022, and are also parents to Georgiana, 13, Spencer, 10, and Allegra, six.
They have previously said they plan to show their children series six of the programme so they can see ‘where mummy and daddy fell in love’.
They announced their pregnancy in September 2021, when they revealed that, although they were actively trying for another baby, who was due on January 8, they were shocked at how fast the pregnancy came.
Grace Adams-Short and her husband Mikey Dalton (pictured in 2007) are still going strong 19 years after first meeting on Big Brother
The couple, who were on the same series as Nikki Grahame and Pete Bennett in 2006 (pictured), got engaged just four months after the show ended
Grace, 39, and Mikey, 42, welcomed son Atticus in January 2022, and are also parents to Georgiana, 13, Spencer, 10, and Allegra, six (pictured in 2024)
She told OK! magazine: ‘It’s funny as people keep asking if we’re having any more and I’m like, “We’ve just had a baby and four is a big number!”‘
While delightedly announcing their baby news, Grace also spoke about her pregnancy and revealed she suffered a rare condition which caused issues.
She said: ‘I had to be induced early as I had a condition called anti-C, which can cause complications with the baby’s antibodies…
‘I never had it with my other pregnancies, it was stressful. All through the pregnancy I had to give blood every two weeks.’
She has previously revealed her highlight of her time on Big Brother was ‘meeting the daddy of our three munchkins’ and credited the franchise for giving her the opportunity to buy multiple homes and travel the world.
She told The Sun: ‘It was kind of like a holiday romance. We just enjoyed it really and everything we did since then has felt right for us.
‘Without Big Brother, I would never of been able to buy a quarter of a million pound flat in London by myself at the age of 20 and travel the way I did.’
Grace and Mikey recently revealed they’re more in love than ever since welcoming their fourth child – but admit they struggle to spend time together.
Grace and Mikey recently revealed they’re more in love than ever since welcoming their fourth child – but admit they struggle to spend time together
They have previously said they plan to show their children series six of the programme so they can see ‘where mummy and daddy fell in love’
During her time in the house, Grace was dubbed ‘the most hated housemate ever’ and said she had to mentally prepare herself for the crowd’s visceral reaction when she was evicted
She told The Sun of their relationship: ‘We still bounce off each other like we did from day one. Obviously we drive each other mad sometimes like any other couple, but we’re best friends and now we’ve got the children, it’s even deeper.
‘Seeing what a good dad Mikey is has made him even more attractive to me.’
Mikey added: ‘Grace just gets better with age, even though she hasn’t aged at all. I tell her every day how good she looks.’
Yet he admitted: ‘We don’t often have time for each other. I leave for work really early and when I get back, I spend a couple of hours with the kids before we’re doing bath time and bedtime.’
Following Big Brother’s revival back in 2023, Grace and Mikey reflected on the beginnings of their romance on the famous show.
Reflecting on the moment he set eyes on Grace, Mikey confessed: ‘It was lust at first sight! I was lusting after her, I still remember the outfit you wore going in and the boots and everything. I was lovestruck when I seen her!’
During her time on the show, Grace was dubbed ‘the most hated housemate ever’ and in shocking style she threw a glass of water over fellow housemate Susie Verrico when she became the fourth contestant to be evicted.
Asked how she coped with the intense scrutiny at the age of 21, she revealed she had mentally prepared herself after hearing the boos from the crowds when host Davina McCall announced she’d been nominated the week before.
Grace explained: ‘I was thinking “what have I done?” You know, I b****d, I didn’t play a game, I just didn’t think and I hold my hands up.
‘As we say to the kids, you get what you get and don’t be upset!’
‘That was a low point but I’m glad I heard [the boos] because that prepared me for going out and it was panto. I think if the doors just opened and I’d been confronted with a barrage of boos, I’d have been a bit “ooo.”‘
Explaining how they coped with instant fame upon leaving the house, Grace mused: ‘there was no social media then so it was a totally different time.’
Mikey added: ‘I also think us being together and kind of bouncing off each other helped us to cope with things because we were both in the same boat and we had each other to speak to.’
Grace was the fourth housemate to be evicted on day 30, while Mikey narrowly missed out on a spot the final week, when he was voted off on day 79.
After being reunited the couple made a short-lived return to the house on day 83 as part of a surprise twist, where the remaining housemates were given the chance to choose one evictee to come back into the main house for the final week.
The housemates chose to bring back Nikki, meaning Grace and Mikey were evicted for the second time after living in The House Next Door for three days.
Grace, who says she still gets recognised after appearing on Big Brother, sold the performing arts academy she set up to concentrate on looking after her children.
The former dance teacher set up performing schools across the nation and was able to purchase properties in London and Liverpool following her Big Brother appearance, recently selling her company for millions.
The Big Brother has long been a catalyst for romance, forming a string of couples throughout the show’s 25-year history.
Grace and Mikey are the only pair to have stood the test of time, though she previously admitted that she ‘fully cringes’ watching reruns of their time on the show.
When classic episodes of the show re-aired on E4 in 2020, Grace wrote on Instagram: ‘I just want to say a huge thank you for all the lovely messages I’ve had about Mikey and I and our family,’
Grace and Mikey are the only pair to have stood the test of time, though she previously admitted that she ‘fully cringes’ watching reruns of their time on the show
Grace also previously admitted that leaving the house to such backlash was ‘different’ at the time due to the lack of social media (pictured with Mikey in 2023)
’14 years ago at 20 years old I decided to go on Big Brother for a bit of fun for the summer I never thought i would of found my future husband !!’
Referencing the backlash she received at the time over her behaviour in the house, Grace continued: ‘Yes I was opinionated and had far too much to say (I don’t think this has really changed if you ask Mikey).’
‘3 kids later we are so close and happy and truly grateful for what we have. I hope the re runs of the show has given everyone some light relief and good old fashioned reality tv during lockdown.’
Posting alongside a glam selfie of herself, Grace added that she was mortified by her appearance joking: ‘I fully cringed last night watching the show and wish someone had introduced me to eyebrow tint and hair dye back then – something I’m well accustomed to now living In Liverpool.’
Big Brother will return to ITV for a new series next month, with the series set to be extended to seven weeks, and once again will be hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best.
Last year’s run saw Ali Bromley crowned series champion, while Marcello Spooks finished as runner-up, and Emma Morgan in third place.
