It’s been six years since Miles Nazaire joined Made in Chelsea, by which point he had already broken up with his girlfriend-of-three-years, Maeva D’Ascanio. A year later in 2019, Maeva burst onto the scene (she really did burst, she may even be combustible) and fell for Miles’ former best friend, James Taylor.
Maeva and James are now married with a nearly two-year-old son called Beau. They’ve even left Chelsea – thankfully the place, not the show – for Hertfordshire. Essentially, they have grown up and moved on with their lives. Or have they? Each season, without fail, and despite all the years that have rumbled by, a love triangle between Miles, Maeva and James seems to form.
Before Maeva and James got engaged in May 2022, it was unclear whether she still had feelings for her ex. Despite emphatically stating she was over it, Maeva made a point of meeting all of Miles' new partners and warning them off him, the exes would often argue on the show, and they even had a heart to heart before Maeva proposed to James where Miles asked her not to go through with it.
It’s therefore not entirely shocking that in ripe old season 28, Miles, Maeva and James appear to be doing the same dance all over again. In the opening episode of the latest series, we discover that Miles posted a TikTok video where he reminisced about his first love (Maeva), the passion they shared and how she was 'the most beautiful, amazing girl' that he'd ever met – all of which was set to a twinkly piano instrumental. To add insult to injury, it even ends with him saying, 'I don't know what happened,' and is captioned, 'Is it healthy for love to feel obsessive?'.
Understandably, it ruffled James’ feathers. In his eyes, the video was disrespectful towards him and his family and he demanded an apology. In Miles’ eyes, he was answering a question about his first love and is entitled to post whatever he wants on social media. All of which played out in episode one, and Miles walked away from the conversation without apologising.
The thing is, they both have a point. Under normal circumstances, an ex posting about you on social media might be strange, desperate or annoying, but if you are not interested or you are in a new, happy and stable relationship, then it's hopefully something you can just ignore (or report, depending on the content).
By the same token, if you are single and curious to know why your ex posted a video about you, then it feels like as good an olive branch as any. And it looks like Maeva's curiosity gets the better of her in episode two.
Of course, Miles, Maeva and James’ history makes the situation more complicated. As does the fact they are all co-stars on the same reality TV show – they are always going to be encouraged to hash it out in front of the cameras.
Given that James used to be Miles' best friend and is now married to his ex-girlfriend, it makes sense that he has little in the way of loyalty. It’s also worth remembering that as well as being reality stars a lot of Made in Chelsea cast members are influencers. There’s every chance Miles shared that video for engagement without any intention of reaching out to Maeva.
He is also right to point out that his relationship with Maeva is his own experience, whether James likes it or not, and he is entitled to speak about it if he wants to – even if it makes him look like a weirdo. Would you want to go on a date with someone who's still posting about how beautiful and amazing their ex was seven years after they broke up? We thought so.
Which brings us to James' side of the argument. If anything, he should feel sorry for his old friend. As he proclaimed during their argument (also not a good look), he 'won' after all. He's married to Maeva. He is the one with the big house and the baby and the dog.
At the same time, Miles is not an ex from yesteryear who shared a thought about his first love on the internet without ever expecting her to find it. He is a romantic menace who seems to have a thing for people on the brink of a break up. He also has a history of having inappropriate conversations with Maeva and, not too long ago, begged her not to marry James. We can hardly blame James for getting his back up.
As always, these petty relationships dramas must be reviewed on a case by case basis, which is a service we are more than happy to offer.
In an ideal world, Maeva would be the one to shut things down. If not by privately reassuring her husband that he has nothing to worry about, then by attempting to swiftly dismiss the whole situation on the show. But then it wouldn't be Made in Chelsea would it? And it certainly wouldn't be Maeva.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).