Gogglebox star Mary Killen said break-up gave husband Giles Wood ‘a stab at happiness’

Gogglebox star Mary Killen has admitted her split from Giles Wood gave him a “stab at happiness”, before the pair embarked on their marriage.

The couple, who live in a cottage in rural Wiltshire with dog Merlin, have been happily married for more than three decades now. They met in 1980 when Mary was a model, and Giles was studying art in Wimbledon.

Mary confesses Giles wasn’t her usual type, saying she favoured “Johnny Depp types” while her future husband “looked a bit like the Milkybar kid”.

Giles, the son of a tile maker from Stoke-on-Trent, changed Mary's perception of him when he invited her on a trip to Ravenna - an Italian city known for its Christian church mosaics. 

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mary says that is where she saw a “suave” side to Giles as he began to show off his Italian skills. Other girls on their coach to Venice also started to take note, with one saying, “God, he is good-looking”.

Their relationship blossomed and Giles eventually popped the question, sending flowers to Mary when she worked at Tatler Magazine as a journalist. The pair, however, temporarily went their separate ways in 1985, a moment Mary said had a profound effect on Giles.

She said: “When we broke up in 1985 you suddenly became very competent; you got new, chic clothes and started working hard.”

Giles asked: “When I had a stab at happiness?” To which Mary quipped in response: “He had a stab at happiness in 1985.”

The pair eventually rekindled their relationship and swapped the hustle and bustle of London for the quiet life in Wiltshire. Giles says the couple have developed shared interests over the years, such as “eating a sandwich and staring at people on the High Street [in Marlborough] and saying, ‘why on earth did they come out in that particular outfit?’”

And, he says, one of the things he likes about Mary is that she “helps him with things” - despite the overhaul he had in 1985. He adds: “I couldn't do anything without her, so I've become dependent on her.”

The couple won over the nation when they joined the Gogglebox cast in 2015. They have become well-known for their bickering, mainly in good jest.

And they are now offering an insight into their life at what they call their “Grottage” - long red-brick house with a thatched roof that Giles hates. They have penned a book together, Country Life: A Story of Peaks and Troughs.

In it, Mary shares details about leaving Northern Ireland for England as well as how to be sociable. While Giles, discusses his love of ecology and his disdain of socialising. 

The couple are also set to return to screens on Channel 4 tonight, when the new series of Gogglebox starts at 9pm.