When Spencer Matthews quit Made In Chelsea in 2015 and left a chasm so large no f*ckboy could fill it, the cheek and humour of TV’s poshest reality show started to stem from another minorly less lecherous source: Alex Mytton and Jamie Laing’s bromance.
Whether co-hosting singles parties (‘I’m sorry he’s never spoken to a girl in his life’) or offering one another words of wisdom after sleeping with their mates’ ex-girlfriends (‘you sadistic f*ck’), they overcame hurdles with grin-inducing depravity and, sometimes, genuine sweetness.
‘It’s always so hard to tell with J,’ Alex tells Grazia of Jamie’s love life as the Candy Kittens entrepreneur prepares to put his party boy days behind him and tie the knot with his co-star and long-term girlfriend Sophie Habboo. ‘He used to fall hard and fast but with Sophie it was different,’ he explains. ‘It felt like they were mates before they actually hooked up.’
Despite the bittersweet feeling that often accompanies your best friend’s new maturity and subsequent marriage, Alex tells Grazia he’s ‘super excited’ for Jamie and Sophie’s ceremony next year. Best man rumours swirled, but Jamie has maintained he’ll have groomsmen (including Spencer Matthews) instead. ‘I will be an usher,’ Alex reveals of his role in the big day.
From Lucy Watson and James Dunmore, Louise Thompson and Ryan Libbey, to Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor, Jamie and Sophie follow in numerous Made In Chelsea alumni’s footsteps who’ve continued to build their lives together off of the air. It appears a reoccurring theme that loved-up life comes easier away from cameras and prying producers.
‘It definitely puts your relationship in a pressure cooker,’ reflects Alex who was famously slapped by Binky Felstead for having an orgy alongside Spencer Matthews while they were in a relationship in series seven of the show. ‘A hell of a lot of relationships have crumbled in it,’ he adds. ‘But I don’t think it’s why people left the show necessarily.’
Alex eventually ended his eight-year-long stint on Made In Chelsea in 2021 and has since built on his success as a DJ and become head of brand partnerships at Juke Box PR. Amid the chaos of his career, he says cycling has helped his mental health. ‘I feel like a bit of an overgrown kid when I get on a bike sometimes,’ he says. ‘There’s just something therapeutic about it.’
Hopping on two wheels twice a week, Alex often gets active with his new girlfriend, 27-year-old model Ruby Kelly, who he was seen hiking and cycling everywhere from Ibiza to London this summer. ‘I discovered that London has parks!’ he jokes. ‘Sounds weird, but I’d never really taken advantage of the city's green spaces, and cycling has given me that.’
While even the most outrageous ex Made In Chelsea cast members seem to be growing up, Alex has clearly held onto the sense of fun that made his misdemeanours irresistibly entertaining on the show—even at their most scandalous. ‘It helps me keep my booty in shape,’ he yells in a recent Instagram video as he cycles speedily past his favourite gym with a Francis Bourgeois-esque camera on his head— he's clearly not slowing down just yet.
Alex is encouraging Londoners to see the city on two wheels with Swapfiets e-bikes. You can book your test ride at www.swapfiets.com