Olivia Attwood on 'hardest year' of marriage and planning kids with Brad: 'We talk about it all the time'
Olivia Attwood's life has changed considerably since she first burst onto our screens as an unfiltered, albeit lovable, and larger-than-life character on Love Island in 2017.
Fast-forward seven years, and she's one of the biggest stars of British television. ITV snapped her up, and she's adored by fans for shows such as Olivia Meets Her Match, a reality series that gives fans a glimpse into her life, as well as documentaries including Getting Filthy Rich and The Price of Perfection. In 2023, Olivia's star rose even higher as she bagged a coveted spot as a panelist on ITV daytime show, Loose Women.
The 32 year old has also taken a massive step in her personal life, after marrying her footballer boyfriend Bradley Dack, 30, in the summer of last year, but she's admitted that their busy work schedules often lead to them not seeing each other "for weeks".
In an exclusive chat with OK!, Olivia confessed that she and Bradley have endured the 'hardest year' in their relationship since they tied the knot, due to their busy work schedules and living 'at other ends of the country'.
However, despite the obstacles, the pair are making it work, and they're even looking toward the future, with Olivia revealing that they talk about having kids 'all the time'.
Speaking about married life, Olivia tells us: "I'm going to be really honest, it's been one of the hardest years for me and Brad since we've been together.
"And when I say hardest, I mean, as in that we've had the challenge of basically we were married and then Brad moved to Sunderland and I'm in London. When you get married, you expect to be in a honeymoon stage, but we ended up living at other ends of the country, and with Brad's football schedule, he gets very few days off, and with my filming, I rarely get any days off."
She continues: "So basically us trying to have a day off together and have some kind of normal relationship, it's really hard.
"But we had a really big talk the other night because it's coming to the end of the [football] season and he said to me, 'We've done it. It's been really hard, but we have done it', and I think so many people can relate to this, so that's why I don't shy away from talking about it."
"You have to find ways to stay connected and stay in each other's lives, otherwise you end up living separate lives," Olivia tells us. "So it's a learning curve, and obviously it's been tough straight after getting married, but we've got the rest of our lives to be together, and we'll probably be wishing we had more space again!"
So what do Brad and Olivia do to keep the spark alive?
"When there's a physical distance between you in a relationship, you have to work hard to keep connected because otherwise you just end up living a separate life," Olivia says candidly. "We've always had busy schedules, but never this extreme. I think people don't realise that we don't see each other for two to three weeks at a time."
Despite being such high-profile stars in the UK, Olivia and Bradley like to keep it low-key when they do get to see each other, with one of their favourite pastimes being walking their two rescue dogs, Lola and Stich, or going to see a film, with Olivia confessing that they are "big cinema geeks".
One of the biggest questions Olivia gets asked by her army of fans (she currently has 2.2million followers on Instagram) is whether she and Brad are planning on having children in the not too distant future.
She's only too happy to open up when OK! asks her about it, as she confesses: "To be honest, we talk about it all the time," as she reveals that Brad would have had kids 'last year'.
"It's probably one of the biggest misconceptions about me that I don't like children or don't ever want to have them, but it's not the case at all," she muses. "It's more that I just don't see that gap right now - my career is so busy, and if I were to have a baby right now, something would have to give, but Brad understands that."
But Olivia goes on to reveal: "In the next couple of years, it's going to be something that I am going to be looking to prioritise, but just not right now."
The star's fans are just as obsessed with her fashion sense as they are her personal life, so they will no doubt be thrilled to learn that Olivia has teamed up with livestream shopping service AliExpress, as their 'It Girl'.
Consumers can shop, join real-time discussions and be entertained at home or on the go, while Olivia and an array of fashion influencers will take them through the latest products, trends and share styling tips.
Speaking about the campaign, Olivia says: "I've been shopping with AliExpress for years, but it was the live shopping aspect that really drew me in, because I thought my Instagram followers would love it. I also love the fact that anyone can do it - it doesn't have to be influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers - and I always like to think about things that my own followers can get involved in if they want to."
And why does she think her followers trust her when it comes to fashion?
"I feel like I've earned that trust because I have been on such a journey with my style and now I've managed to learn what suits me. I've stopped chasing trends, and instead, I dress for my body and for me.
"You can build your wardrobe on AliExpress - there’s loads of on trend pieces."
Shoppers can find out more about AliExpress here