It's hard to think of a Made In Chelsea cast member as iconic as Mark-Francis Vandelli.He swanned into our lives during the first season of the E4 show wearing real Italian leather and snapping his fingers at everyone. His sassy one liners and humorous scenes withVictoria Baker-Harber were the perfect comic relief from all the drama in Chelsea.
Although Mark-Francis was one of the longest serving cast members the show ever had (starring on the show for 11 years from 2011 to 2022) there is still a lot viewers didn't know about him. The reality star has always remained very private, despite the rest of the cast having their love lives and personal confrontations aired for all to see. However, during a recent episode of Celebs Go Dating, Mark-Francis candidly opened up about why he remained so private on the show, his complicated upbringing and past relationships in a rare moment of vulnerability.
As this series of Celebs Go dating has progressed, Mark-Francis has struggled to lower his walls on dates which has frustrated the dating experts.Anna Williamson and Dr Tara encouraged Mark-Francis to talk about his most recent long-term relationship, to which the reality star revealed that the relationship had been 'a while ago' and lasted around five years. Mark-Francis explained that it ended because 'it was no longer right, for neither of us'.
He confirmed he had loved his ex-boyfriend, saying, 'I mean love is the most beautiful and important emotion that any of us can feel. You know that is surely what every human being strives for in some way, in some capacity.' But when the experts asked if they had lived together, he revealed he had 'never lived with anyone'. Dr Tara explained the idea of a LAT relationship, which stands for Living Apart Together and is when a couple has an intimate relationship but live at separate addresses.
Mark-Francis went on to explain that this 'makes perfect sense' as that's what his parents did for 40 years. Fun fact: Mark-Francis is heir to actual Russian royalty. His parents are Russian princess Diane Boulting-Casserley Vandelli, a millionaire socialite who was an Yves Saint-Laurent model in the ’70s and ’80s, and former Italian industrialist, Marzio Vandelli.
The reality star revealed that growing up his parents actually lived in entirely different countries. He explains, 'There are couples who believe in separate bathrooms, and there are couples who believe in separate countries.' Adding: 'From the age of two I lived with my mother during the week, and then on Saturday, I'd be with my father.' He concluded that his parents are still married but still reside in separate countries.
As the emotional scenes aired, viewers flocked to social media to praise him for opening up. One X user ( formerly Twitter) wrote, 'Omg I always thought he was so arrogant and I've never taken to him but I was welling up listening to his honesty.'
As he went on to talk about starring on the E4 show, Made In Chelsea, he spoke about how he ensured that his personal life remained private. Mark-Francis explained, 'The [Made In Chelsea] producers understood that I was not gong to film certain things. It was a formula that worked. It's actually the secret to my longevity - I don't open up every aspect of my life and allow a certain amount of mystique and intrigue. It's about preserving yourself.'
He continued, 'Made In Chelsea is a minute aspect of my life - it documents a very small aspect of who I am. I can be fun and light-hearted on it and it doesn't weigh on me. I don't like very awkward situations. I will keep that for off camera.'
Mark-Francis also insisted his friends, family and relationships will never feature on TV. He said, 'It would never happen. It would be selfish of me to bring people into the public eye who don't want that. Not everyone wants to be photographed tying their shoelaces.'
This moment of vulnerability revealed that behind Mark-Francis' mystique, there is a lot more to him than meets the eye.