Big Brother's Chanelle Hayes is married! Every picture as she weds 'secret' fiancé: 'He's just my person'
EXCLUSIVE: After battling illness, former Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes weds her knight in shining armour, accountant Dan Bingham in a beautiful romantic ceremony
Everyone deserves a fairy-tale ending – and former Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes has found her Prince Charming in accountant Dan Bingham. “He has got the patience of a saint,” Chanelle, 36, smiles, when we catch up at her home in Yorkshire – proudly wearing a jumper that reads ‘Wifey’. “I don’t ever have to worry about anything where Dan’s concerned.”
And the embellishment on her jumper is exactly why we’re here to chat – after a two-year engagement, Dan and Chanelle tied the knot on 28 June 2024 on a magical day in Northorpe Barn in Mirfield. Against a backdrop of stunning flowers and exposed brick walls, the newlyweds said “I do” – with their own vows – in front of 110 of their nearest and dearest.
Dan and Chanelle first met in 2020, but kept their relationship relatively private, with Chanelle explaining Dan has “no interest” in fame. In fact, before their engagement in May 2022, when Dan got down on one knee while they were “hungover” after his 40th birthday, the TV star never publicly revealed his name and often concealed his identity on her social media.
But now she’s ready to shout about her love from the rooftops – after the celebration that brought their two families together.
“The wedding focused on love and on family, which is exactly what we wanted,” said Chanelle – who is mum to Blakely, 14, and six-year-old Frankie, and now step-mum to Dan’s daughter, Amelia, aged 16.
Like most brides, the lead up to their special day was full of excitement – and lots of planning. But it wasn’t all plain sailing for Chanelle, who was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) three years ago.
Unfortunately, she experienced a flare-up just months before the wedding, causing her weight to plummet.
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Despite losing around eight stone after having gastric sleeve surgery in August 2020, the star – who is studying to be a nurse – feared her wedding dress wouldn’t fit. Thankfully, like fairy tales always do, everything worked out in the end.
Here, Chanelle and Dan exclusively invite OK! in to their love bubble, spill the most intimate details of their big day, and tell us why expanding their family is strictly off the cards…
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Congratulations both! You must be over the moon…
Chanelle: It was the best day ever. I unfortunately had an exam the day before, if you can believe it, but Dan’s been in a love bubble ever since.
Dan: It’s honestly a day we’ll never forget. Once Chanelle’s exams are out the way, we’ll plan our honeymoon… perhaps in January.
Was a long engagement always on the cards?
Chanelle: Dan wanted to get married right away. He said he would have married me in a car park wearing a bin bag [laughs], but I wanted to finish my degree first.
Dan: We compromised and settled on a two-year engagement. It allowed us to plan it our way.
Chanelle: Yeah, I put my foot down a little. Dan hates attention being on him, but there were certain things that were meaningful to me. For example, my dad hasn’t been very well and I wanted him to walk me down the aisle, and also I wanted us to write our own vows. It was important that our wedding was about family and love.
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What made you decide on your venue?
Chanelle: We wanted it to be local and Northorpe Barn is just beautiful. It’s also a charity and any profits they make – from weddings or parties – they put back into the community. All their profits go to supporting young people and families experiencing mental health challenges.
Dan: We figured we’d rather spend money on something that would do good.
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Did you have any help planning the wedding?
Chanelle: I had a clear vision – something relaxed and fun, and I have two lovely friends who helped, one is a wedding decorator and the other is a florist. Dan, well, he just turned up on the day!
Dan: I left it to Chanelle, but what an incredible job she did, organising it all. I can’t believe the effort she put into it, especially juggling placement hours, uni work and looking after the kids.
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