Imagine going on a hen party without having met your future husband or walking down the aisle and having no idea about the person you鈥檙e about to marry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 weird,鈥� admits Sophie Brown with casual understatement.
For those who don鈥檛 know two years ago she appeared on the Channel 4 show Married At First Sight.
Millions of viewers watched her tie the knot with Johnathan Wileman and fly off on honeymoon to St Lucia with a man she barely knew 鈥� and a TV camera crew following their every move.
She went on the show looking for love but the couple broke up within a few months and she ended up being cruelly targeted by online trolls about her appearance.
Now, in an exclusive interview with podcast, she lifts the lid about life on the TV show and her exciting new role with tech startup Flowlio.
Brown was 25 and working at Manchester-based eCommerce giant THG when she took the decision that changed her life.
She was in the midst of changing role from channel manager to global head of channel, which involved developing a strategy to onboard new relationships that would help the company鈥檚 tech arm of THG Ingenuity.
All that changed when she saw an advert for contestants for the TV聽 show Married At First Sight and decided on a whim to apply.
鈥淚 was 25 when I was in the process and 26 when I actually got married,鈥� she told podcast. 鈥淚 thought 鈥榠n four years鈥� time, no-one will remember me then鈥�.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 chasing fame or anything like that. It was an exciting thing but primarily I was there to find someone.
鈥淚 was completely na茂ve to it. I was really invested in my career and I was doing really well. I thought at the end of the show I鈥檇 go back to it.鈥�
Brown was granted unpaid leave from her job at THG and even had a hen do with friends for her upcoming wedding – despite not having met her future husband.
That all changed when she was paired with a joiner from Yorkshire called Johnathan Wileman.
鈥淚 was five months in the process and he was five weeks,鈥� she recalled.
鈥淲hen I first saw Johnathan I was really happy. I had this warm smile from him. I looked at his family and they were all gorgeous. It鈥檚 very overwhelming. I felt really excited and positive.
鈥淥n the day of the wedding we both nervous but I got vibes. We had an incredible day.鈥�
The following day the couple flew off to St Lucia for a honeymoon accompanied by a TV crew.
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鈥淵ou can鈥檛 leave the hotel,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淲e got downtime in the evening. You know when they鈥檙e filming because you鈥檝e got a mic on. They try and catch you out all the time.
鈥淭hey feed the questions. You had to be careful you didn鈥檛 just say what they said. Johnathan and I were very respectful of each other.
鈥淲e鈥檇 always debrief and tell each other what we said about the other person as we didn鈥檛 want to throw each other under the bus.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 go on TV and talk about sex in-depth. I鈥檇 say 鈥榳e鈥檝e slept together now鈥� but I wouldn鈥檛 go into loads of detail because I wouldn鈥檛 want that out and I respect my family.鈥�
However her new ‘husband’ – they were never legally married – caused controversy when he told viewers he didn鈥檛 want to be with a woman with muscly ‘horse legs’.
Months later the row was reignited when Brown was pictured coming out of a restaurant in Manchester and the photos were published in the Daily Mail, leading to an avalanche of spiteful comments about her weight, including being branded a 鈥榳hale鈥�.
Sophie Brown with her Flowlio colleagues Katie Fradley and Stephen Repton
鈥淚t鈥檚 the worst I鈥檝e ever felt in my whole entire life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even want to leave the house and I wasn鈥檛 trolled that badly.
鈥淚 was probably working out six times a week, I was severely under-eating before I went in the show. 聽I was the smallest I鈥檇 ever been but still people say stuff about you and you think 鈥榖loody hell鈥�.鈥�
Brown compared her time on Married At First Sight to an 鈥榚xperiment鈥�.
鈥淢y life was never the same again,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 go on dates and people come over and say 鈥榶ou were on Married At First Sight鈥� and I say 鈥榥ow is not the time鈥�. I鈥檝e never been on that many dates.鈥�
The TV exposure saw her Instagram followers soar to 133,000 but the 28-year-old told podcast hosts Jen Atkinson and Chris Maguire that although she still hopes to meet her soulmate she鈥檚 focusing more on her career.
She鈥檚 just joined a new software and training startup called Flowlio as commercial director and board member.
鈥淭his is a major step for me personally and brings my experience from the commercial roles I have had in the past and takes that to the next level,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 am looking after sales strategy, marketing, PR, events, documentation and agreements, a lot! 聽Any new business you have to get stuck into all areas of the business.鈥�
- You can listen to The Holiday That Changed My Life podcast on Spotify, Apple and all good podcast platforms. Listen