AFTER more than six years of marriage and countless soppy Instagram posts, Mark Wright has declared he is SICK of having to defend his relationship with his stunning actress wife Michelle Keegan.
The 34-year-old reformed Towie lothario insists the couple always make time to see each other, even though their busy, successful careers leave them working in different cities — and often different countries.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “Nobody needs to know how much Michelle and I see each other.
“We always make it work. It’s just a lot of travelling really, up and down the motorway.
“We both work hard, she works hard, there are no rules in life, are there?
“I might see her for five days, go to work for a day then see her for another five.
“We see each other plenty, people don’t need to worry about that.”
Asked if he would renew his wedding vows, he said: “I’ve never even thought about it.”
Former Coronation Street star Michelle previously told how she enjoyed spending extra quality time with Mark for the first time in years during the three lockdowns, doing jigsaw puzzles and cooking.
The 34-year-old, Manchester-born beauty spent years filming in exotic locations for BBC Army drama Our Girl, including South Africa and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Mark landed a gig as a Hollywood TV presenter for entertainment news programme Extra in California, during which time their long-distance relationship relied on phone and video calls.
Now the super-fit pair bond by working out, committing to several gym sessions together every week.
Mark said: “We love to go to the gym together all the time. We work out at the same time, we coincide our days.
“We might do different workouts while we’re there. She’ll do her thing and I’ll do mine, but we look forward to it.”
Earlier this year Michelle said: “Before Covid we’d do our own things, but now we set our alarms and have got into routines of working out together.”
The pandemic hit Mark’s family hard, with his mum, dad, two grandparents and uncles all struck down with Covid around Christmas. He lost his uncle Eddie, 65, in March.
He said previously: “Covid tore my family apart and it’s not going to be the same again.”
He has tried to focus his energy on launching his new fitness app Train Wright — the result of thousands of people tuning in for his live Instagram workouts at the height of the lockdown.
Mark has even been doing workouts with his parents again, as they have got their health back after Covid.
He said: “Train Wright is suitable for any age. My parents have done a lot of workouts with me. They’re getting fit again and have always focused on that.”
Comparisons are inevitable with The Body Coach fitness guru Joe Wicks, but Mark insists there is plenty of room in the market for both of them.
He said: “I’ll never try to rival Joe Wicks, he is the king of what he does. He’s a great friend of mine but I’m different to Joe.
“He does a lot of PE with the kids, a lot of lighter stuff. Our stuff can some-times be more intense, but nobody could ever take Joe’s crown.
“He’s the king, and he’s an inspiration to us all. The more of us out there, the better.
“It was because of lockdown that I started the company. I’d never thought of it as a career, but I felt mentally demotivated, so I started doing Instagram lives.
“Now it genuinely feels like we’ve got a community.”
Mark is currently on a stag do in Ibiza with businessman William Lee-Kemp, the man set to marry his well-known sister Jess in Majorca next month.
As Jess prepares to walk down the aisle, Mark’s youngest sibling Natalya, 21, is making waves as a model.
He said: “I haven’t needed to give my little sister any tips, she needs to give me tips on how to model.
“She seems to have a natural knack for that one.”
To keep himself looking trim, Mark sticks to a healthy diet during the week but admits he enjoys a splurge at weekends.
He said: “I love to eat and treat myself. I diet during the week but on Friday nights I love an Indian takeaway with naan bread.
“If you’re training a lot you can put a lot in your body and train it off. Enjoy your food and enjoy your life.”
After finding fame on Towie 11 years ago, coming second on I’m A Celebrity . . . in 2011 and fourth on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, Mark has now quit reality TV completely to focus on presenting.
His fortune is estimated at £11million, thanks to his TV work and property portfolio. He has converted an Essex mansion into six two-bedroom flats.
He said: “I’m done with reality TV. I’ve done Jungle and Strictly. I hosted a TV show on the Euros for Sky Sports, I have the Heart FM radio show, I might be hosting an American show soon.
“I like doing a variety of dating shows, sports and music.”
Mark says he would love to do a health and fitness makeover show, using the principles from his workout.
He said: “I’d like to explore the idea of Train Wright becoming a TV show.
“I like to do TV that I’m passionate about and this would be a really fun idea.”
Workaholic Mark also had a brief spell as a left-back for League Two footie side Crawley Town in West Sussex in December.
But he made only two appearances before being released in May.
Mark, who was a semi-pro as a teenager with West Ham, Arsenal and Spurs, previously said: “The day I got released by Tottenham was one of the worst days of my life.
“I cried my eyes out. I realised I had messed up.”
After his recent stint with Crawley his football career has gone the same way as reality TV.
He said: “I only signed for the season and the season’s over now. I enjoyed it.”
Mark swears by self-help manual The Secret, which teaches the law of attraction.
He said: “I’d never be arrogant or confident about anything because I’m not a talented singer, I’m not a talented comedian, I’m not a talented actor. I wasn’t a talented presenter at first, I had to learn.
“But the one thing I’ll always be confident at is I’ll always be the hardest-working one in the room. And I believe that about anyone.
“You don’t have to be the most talented.
“If you got bad grades in GCSEs or A levels, there is more to you than what’ is written down on paper. Whatever you want to be, if you work your a** off, you’ll fail along the way, but it’ll happen.”
Mark has been busy building a dream home in the Essex countryside for him and Michelle.
An architect’s lavish design shared on Instagram revealed it will be a palatial house complete with an outdoor pool, large sun terrace and sprawling garden, which will be perfect for all those summer parties.
Former club promoter Mark is especially excited about having his own watering hole in the new property.
He said: “We’ll be building a bar in the new place too. I haven’t got a name for it yet.”
Whatever he decides, he’ll be sure to get it just Wright.
