Molly-Mae Hague is nervous. 'Incredibly nervous,' in fact, she tells Grazia. This month her new docuseries, Molly-Mae: Behind It All, lands on Prime Video, which boasts unprecedented insight into the private life of Britain's biggest influencer at a time when her seemingly picture-perfect life was in chaos. That includes the fallout from the end of her engagement to boxer Tommy Fury, father of her two-year old daughter Bambi, which Hague announced last August just days before the launch of her new clothing brand, Maebe. 'I've let people into my life with my vlogs [she has 1.96m subscribers on YouTube], but I've never really delved this deep,' she says. 'But with this I was ready to be more vulnerable and let people in.'
Hague has never explicitly stated the reason for her split from Fury, posting cryptically on Instagram, 'After five years of being together I never imagined our story would end, especially not this way.' But fans have speculated widely as to the cause. In the documentary, Hague, 25, says, 'We were utterly obsessed with one another; all I ever wanted was to get married. Suddenly, overnight, every part of my life changed. The last couple of months have been the worst of my life, I am angry at him and very hurt.'
How has she found navigating such a huge life change so publicly? 'I've become really good at accepting the highs and lows of this job. My relationship breakdown being in the public eye was hard, but also, I have a young daughter, so she was my strength. It's just waking up and pushing on because life has to. I've got businesses to run, a life to live and a daughter to raise.'
The first Maebe collection sold out in just 24 minutes, but Hague faced criticism for the price point and quality of the materials – and we see this play out in the documentary. 'We've really delved into the good and bad days of growing Maebe, so it's very real,' she says. 'I am just a normal person; I'm not always going to get everything perfect.'
Daughter Bambi, Hague notes, has been shielded from the hardest parts of the break-up. 'I'm really proud of the job Tommy and I have done so far with raising her,' she says. 'We've really protected her, and she's so young I feel like she's not felt this happening.'
It was the newborn stage Hague struggled with most, with Fury away at training camp for the first month of Bambi's life. Now, Hague says she will finally share the 'full story' of how she felt postpartum. 'I used to sit and think, "This isn't how I imagined it would look," and I was confused as to why I felt like it looked one way for other people, but then one way for me,' she explains. 'I didn't feel like I was enjoying it really but, as the months passed, I feel like I've really found my feet with it now. I love motherhood so much.'
The documentary will, she believes, help people see her in a different light. Her rise to fame since she appeared on the 2019 season of Love Island has undoubtedly skewed perceptions of her as a businesswoman.
What would her 20-year-old-self, strutting into the Love Island villa with a tan she would come to monetise an a topknot many would name after her, think of her life now? 'I don't think I'd believe we're still going,' she laughs. 'I worried back then that there was a sell-by date on these opportunities. But I really worked to create an identity for myself beyond Love Island because, while it gave me the platform, I was so hungry before it and had grown an organic following, so after the show I just wanted to carry on.'
And yet, the woman aptly named as the UK's influencer-in-chief suffers with her confidence. 'I just really want to work on believing in myself more in work, feeling like I don't need to lean on others to lead,' she admits. 'With Maebe, it's something I've really tried to work on, that when I'm in the office I feel confident instructing people. I still have so much to learn.'
'Molly-Mae: Behind It All' is available to stream on Prime Video from 17th January