Gogglebox star Giles issues marriage update with wife Mary 'incompatible'

Gogglebox favourites Giles and Mary, known for their endearing banter and the nickname for their Wiltshire home, 'The Grottage', have been married for an impressive three decades and have won over the nation's hearts during their nine-year tenure on the Channel 4 series, reports the Mirror.

Despite their lively presence on screen, their life away from the cameras is notably quieter. In a revealing interview with Idler earlier this year, Giles reflected on the solitude of rural life amid lockdown, saying: "You see, I've had six months of not talking to anyone. That's the thing about living in the country, who do you talk to?"

He expressed his dismay at the loss of local gathering places, asking, "The pub's shut. I don't go to church. Who am I supposed to talk to." When asked if he talks to Mary, Giles humorously responded: "Mary hardly talks to me, we're incompatible."

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Their conversations, as Giles disclosed, often revolve around what to watch on TV in the evenings, admitting: "We're distracting our lives away." This peek into their relationship echoes past comments, such as Mary's playful observation: "The thing about Giles is he's 48% bad but 52% good. It gets worse every year".

With series 23 of Gogglebox having concluded earlier this month, the cast is currently on break, while Celebrity Gogglebox has taken over the Friday night slot. Devotees of the show can look forward to the return of the original format in September. Mary recently opened up about the "dismal ending" of her childhood home, which she claimed fell prey to "vandals" before being demolished.

The columnist, who has been a familiar face on Channel 4 alongside her husband Giles Wood since 2015, delved into her past in the couple's book 'Country Life'. Initially released last year, the book is now set for a paperback reissue.

In 'Country Life', where the pair "share their hard-earned lessons" from rural living, one tale that has caught recent media attention is Mary's early years in Northern Ireland. She reportedly spent her childhood in Larne and later made the solo move to London at the age of 18.

OK! magazine reports Mary's family home was adjacent to a church and also served as her GP father's workplace. The publication cites her recollection of the house being a target for "vandals" and its subsequent razing.

In the book, Mary recounts: "Vandals broke in and tried to set fire to it on more than one occasion. They broke a stained-glass window on the landing just out of malice, not because they needed to come through that window."

She lamented the decision to destroy the house, saying: "The church said they had no option but to bulldoze the lovely property."

Mary also reflects on the house's significance, noting in a chapter: "It was a dismal ending for a house that had been of such service to both medical and social life - the centre of so many parties given by my parents."

Mary reportedly moved from Northern Ireland to England at the age of 18. It's believed that she lived in London for some time before relocating to a rural area. She currently resides in a Wiltshire cottage with Giles.