THEY’VE enjoyed holidays in some of the world’s most luxurious destinations, built up a property empire worth millions and been known to treat each other to countless romantic gifts and extravagant parties over the years.
And it’s no wonder Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan like to splash the cash now and again, as Sun Online recently revealed they are now the richest young couple on TV.
The pair have earned over £2.6 million between them in the last year, largely through Michelle’s firm Rosia Promotions Limited and Mark’s company The Wright Looks.
Both enjoyed a stellar 2019 with Michelle receiving rave reviews for the BBC drama Our Girl and the Sky One comedy Brassic.
Meanwhile former Towie star Mark has cemented his status as a top TV and radio presenter, and has now successfully branched out into the fitness and property industry too.
But what exactly do Mark and Michelle, who married in 2015, like to spend their cash on?
From those incredible holidays to their lavish homes, their prized pets and their designer belongings, here’s a look at where they like to splash out…
After Mark left his dream job as a presenter on the American entertainment show Extra in the US last year he turned property developer.
The former reality star bought a £1.1 million six-bedroom property in Chigwell, Essex which he transformed into four luxury homes with smartphone-controlled heating and lighting and solar panels.
According to Rightmove, the 33 year-old former Towie star flogged one last June for £1.1 million, already making his money back, but two others have been on the market for a year. His sister Jess lives in the fourth.
Mark and former Corrie star, Michelle, 33, also bought an Essex farmhouse for £1.3 million last year which they plan to knock down completely to build their dream home from scratch.
Architect drawings reveal that the new house will include a ground floor bar, gym, TV room, study, outdoor swimming pool, a huge make-up room – and a playroom.
In the meantime, the glamorous pair has been spending lockdown in their marital home in Chigwell, Essex, worth around £2 million.
They bought the glam pad in 2013 and have worked hard to turn it into the perfect home – complete with six bedrooms, three bathrooms, its own gym, plush furnishings that include lots of mirrors and a spacious garden.
In March, Our Girl star Michelle shocked her legions of fans when she appeared via video link from the couple’s master bedroom, complete with huge padded bed and floor to ceiling mirrors.
Her posts on Instagram from the glamorous pad reveal the couple like to splash out on flowers, candles and fancy glass chandeliers too.
In a recent blog for Hello magazine, Michelle showed she was happy to fork out on interior design experts when it came to her interiors, crediting Laura and Sarah from, ‘Stripes of Essex’ for turning their house into a home.
Mark clearly loves to splash the cash on his wife at Christmas and birthdays although in December 2019, he told Closer magazine he was running out of ideas.
“I’m at that stage where I’ve gone over the amount – I’ve bought her new trainers, new perfume, new tracksuit, holiday, dress, whatever – now I’m like, what do I do now?” he said. “Now, it’s the risky bits – you choose something a little random and hope that it works.”
Michelle’s a little less random, taking a month to organise a surprise birthday party in Essex for Mark’s 30th, arranging for friends and family to come down from Manchester while Mark’s loved ones were all, naturally, in on the secret.
A DJ was flown in especially from Majorca and the group let their hair down sipping on tiki-themed cocktails, before indulging in Mark’s incredible bespoke sweet-themed birthday cake that nodded to Mark’s passion – football – and his day job at the time – presenting on Heart radio.
But that was only part of the celebration.
The couple were actually in Florida ahead of Mark’s birthday, and went out for a special date night, with Mark sharing a photo with his 1.7 million Instagram followers saying: “Tipsy, Pre birthday celebrations last night.”
A couple of days later he followed it up with another post, again sharing a photo of his birthday drinks. “Cocktails out again…. proper milking my birthday!!”
While Mark may struggle for present ideas for Michelle, he’s clearly not lost his romantic touch and on their fifth wedding anniversary just a month ago, the former Towie star was seen taking delivery of a huge bunch of yellow flowers for his wife as they marked their big day.
The lovebirds met on holiday in Dubai in 2012 and haven’t stopped going on holiday ever since.
For their honeymoon in 2015, they stayed on the tiny island hideaway of Maafushivaru in the Maldives, at a top-end resort boasting two sandy beaches, a turquoise lagoon with crystal clear waters and a coral reef for snorkelling and diving.
Soon after that they were back in Dubai – where Mark proposed to Michelle on the beach – staying in the beautiful underwater suite at Atlantis, the Palm costing a mere £5,272 a night with personal butler and private pool.
In January the following year, Mark took Michelle on her first ever skiing trip to Tignes, France, staying in the four star Montana Village Apartments right next to the slopes.
Then in October, the two were off to the sun again, with Michelle posing in a crocheted beige and white crop top and bottoms on a hotel balcony at an unknown but clearly sunny location with a tan to make all of Essex green with envy.
Mark posted a romantic shot of him lifting her up in the air on the beach with the pic captioned: “Fun in the sun with this 1 @michkeegan.”
They visited the romantic capital of Paris in April 2017, documenting their lavish meals and cocktails and wonderful views of the Eiffel Tower on social media then jetted off to Majorca in June 2018 to attend the wedding of Mark’s footballer brother, Josh Wright.
Mark posted a beautiful photo of himself sat next to the sea, with the caption: “Wow what a setting, colours !!”
In August 2019, they enjoyed a lavish break in Ibiza after Michelle had wrapped her five-month filming commitments in Cape Town, South Africa on BBC drama Our Girl.
It was clearly a holiday to remember and included a private villa, with personal chef and glamorous yacht.
This came just a few months after the pair had been on a sun-drenched trip to Barbados, where Michelle shared one Instagram picture with her 4.6 million followers of her in a bikini: “My task today..? What cocktail to have next. #holiday #carribean #timeout.”
Their final holiday, before they were stranded in the UK like the rest of us lockdown Brits, was earlier this year, when the couple joined Mark’s family in Jamaica to celebrate his 33rd birthday, staying at Sandals South Coast, the five star resort on a two-mile stretch of white sandy beach and nestled within a 500-acre nature preserve.
From their envy-inducing Instagram posts, it appears the couple stayed in one of the Overwater Bungalows – costing from £855 per person per night – featuring vaulted ceilings, glass floor panels, custom crafted king-size beds and spa-style bathrooms with a walk-in rain shower.
Mark shared a sweet snap of the pair cuddling up together to watch the sunset over the water with cocktails in hand. In the heartfelt caption, he said: “Happiness summed up in 1 pic. Living, Laughing, Loving. Jamaica you made my birthday week so special.”
Michelle, 31, took to Instagram last April to post a gushing tribute to her nine year-old Dachshund Phoebe, who shares her bed with Mark.
She told her fans: “Whoever said that diamonds are a girls best friend never owned a dog.”
The couple also share Chihuahua, Pip, and Mark, 32, revealed they allow the dogs to share their bed. He told MailOnline: “We’re both softies. When they’re being good we let them sleep in our room… within an hour they’re both in bed with us.”
At their £1 million star-studded wedding at Hengrave Hall Estate in Suffolk.
Michelle wore a beautiful bespoke ivory gown, designed by Galia Lahav at Browns Bride, which cost between £5000 and £15,000.
Her wedding look was completed with a pair of Terry De Havilland platform shoes, which had her new initials – MW in diamond on the soles.
But while her wedding dress may have been designer, Michelle prefers her fashion at the more budget end and has had collections with Lipsy and is currently in collaboration with Very.
In an interview with Drapers Online in 2015, she claimed she was a simple high street girl, loving Zara, Topshop and Mango, adding: “But I always try to have one piece, maybe a coat or a bag, that’s more high-end.
“When I left Corrie I decided to treat myself to a bag. I’ve always wanted a Chanel bag so with my last pay cheque from the show I treated myself to a Chanel 2.55 quilted bag [which retails for about £2,000].”
The former Corrie star has also been pictured toting her belongings in a cream padded Gucci bag, costing £1600, which boasted the brand’s emblem in gold on the front.
But the pair aren’t averse to an occasional designer shopping spree. When Mark landed his ‘dream job’ at entertainment channel E! in 2017, the couple were spotted on a shopping trip in sunny Los Angeles, visiting shops in the upmarket neighbourhood of Venice.
The former Corrie actress had a huge smile on her face as she carried a black shopping bag full of new purchases alongside that same nude Gucci handbag.
As for Mark, while Michelle may love her designer handbags, he can’t resist a sleek upmarket car, treating himself to a brand new black £80,000 Range Rover last year.
Well, after a stellar 2019, why not?
