David Bailey, who goes by the name Bailey and lives in Hove, was one of the grooms to appear on series 10 of MAFS UK, the final of which aired on November 14.

Producers reached out to the 37-year-old via social media and invited him to become a contestant.

“I was single at the time, and had been for a while, and I was looking for a wife. I’ve always thrown myself in at the deep end.”

Bailey was paired with Rebecca Fenney, a beautician from Liverpool.

The couple appeared to have the strongest bond on the series and were described by viewers as the “golden couple”, but things got off to a rocky start at their wedding ceremony as Rebecca said Bailey was not her “type”.

“For me, initially turning round and seeing her, I thought she was a great looking girl,” Bailey said.

“I had the vibe early on that we weren’t each other’s normal types, but I was prepared to give it a go. I wasn’t getting anything back from her and that threw me off.

“Right at the end of the night, I said, ‘I need to see my sister’ and I said to her, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’. We probably both look back at that first meeting and wish it was different.

Bailey and Rebecca after marrying at first sight (Image: Channel 4)

“Then you wake up and get told you’re going to Mauritius – even though I didn’t know where that was, which is not great from someone who works in travel.

“I booked us the VIP lounge, and we ran off together and had a normal conversation without the cameras, had a few drinks and realised we had the same humour.

“Our honeymoon was like a romantic movie. We were running off together, swimming in the sea at midnight. [Viewers] only saw a brief clip of that, but things turned round in 24 to 48 hours.”

Initially, Rebecca said she was concerned Bailey was not enough of an “alpha” male for her and doubted him when he said that he was 6ft 4.

“I’ve always been super confident – I don’t use the term [alpha] and I don’t really know what that means,” Bailey said.

“It was confusing for me; it threw me off.  I didn’t really know what Bec wanted. I thought, what do I have to do – do I have to down a beer? It was the first time in my life I had been asked if I was an alpha.”

Bailey with Rebecca in Brighton, during their homestay (Image: David Bailey)

At their final vows ceremony, both Bailey and Rebecca decided to stay together and while the series aired, both shared photographs on social media of their relationship beyond the show.

But fans were disappointed when, following the series finale, Bailey and Rebecca announced they had split – a fact they had been forced to keep under wraps until the end of the show.

“You get yourself into the mindset of, you do want to share your journey so you’re looking at the pictures and showing them [on social media] and I was doing that whilst watching myself fall in love all over again.

“People would be coming up to me in the street, saying ‘you’re the most perfect couple, you’re made for each other’ and all the time I knew we weren’t together.

“It’s quite unusual to split up with someone and then watch endless hours of your time together on TV. Watching the show was quite difficult.”

Bailey, who woks in sales, moved to Hove seven years ago from St Albans, having also lived in Bali for a period.

“I only had a few friends here when I moved but I wanted to be by the sea. I love the people, the vibe, the energy – I think it’s the most unique place in the UK.”

Having always been “passionate” about beer, he started his own small brewery company, Bluebell Brewing. So far, the company has one beer – Blue’s View – which is soon to be stocked in several pubs in Brighton and Hove.

Bailey with his company’s beer (Image: David Bailey)

One of the stumbling blocks for the couple was that Rebecca was unwilling to move from Liverpool, where she owns a beauty business, and Bailey needs to be close to Hove where he has a young daughter, Bluebelle.

“That was huge for me; it was a question we couldn’t answer,” he said.

“I won’t be away from my daughter, I can move within reason, an hour maybe – but not five. Blue has to come before my happiness.

“It’s strange for people to watch because they think you’re not at that stage yet, but you feel you are married. I know it’s not legal, but you live together every moment of every day, so the thought of going backwards to being weekend partners wasn’t possible.”

The father-of-one says his time on the show has not changed what he wants in a relationship, but he has “learned more about myself”.

“Being a typical man I tend to laugh things off and say things are fine. On the show you’re constantly talking about how you feel and being asked how you feel.

“You saw me crying a few times – I never cry usually. The last time had probably been when my daughter was born. It’s fine for men to show their feelings.”