Unlike the long left behind days of Big Brother’s first ever season back in 2001, these days it’s hard to find a reality TV contestant who doesn’t have some sort of connection to someone else who’s also thrust themselves into the limelight.
WATCH: Mikey Pembroke blasts MAFS producers
And as Big Brother 2021 kicks off, it seems contestants from the Channel Seven favourite are no exception.
Mary, the mum of Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis, is already stealing the spotlight with the news of her inclusion but she’s not the only Big Brother housemate with ties to MAFS.
Yep, that’s right – podcast host and fitness fanatic Katie Williams also has a hidden connection.
The 27-year-old once caught the eye of MAFS season seven groom Mikey Pembroke and were in a relationship for over a year.
While it’s unclear exactly why and when the couple split, the pair were first pictured together on Instagram in July 2017, and the last couple photo Katie posted of her former boyfriend was in April 2018.
Both of their feeds featured happy couple snaps from their time together, as well as sweet messages of support to one another so it’s likely their break up was fairly amicable.
In August 2018, Mikey wrote a sweet, gushy post about his girlfriend, who once competed on Australia Ninja Warrior, in celebration of her birthday.
“Happy 25th @katiewilllly !! you are one of a kind!” he wrote.
“You are incredibly genuine, extremely fierce but very kind and have the biggest heart I know. Thank you for being patient and understanding I’m one weird cookie. Lots of love 💕 Mikey.”
And on the couple’s first anniversary in February 2018, Mikey wrote on Instagram: “365 days , 5 countries and a life time of memories! What a first year, I love doing life with you!”
Meanwhile, Katie appeared just as smitten with her man before the romance ran its course.
“Sometimes drunk, always in love,” she gushed in the caption of one photo of the couple.
In another post, Katie celebrated their first anniversary by penning: “1 year, a lifetime of memories. You are both my safe place and my biggest adventure. Life is just better when we are together.”
And although both Mikey and Katie haven’t offered up too much about their relationship, the soon-to-be Big Brother star once let slip details about their home life in an interview with news.com.au in 2017 while talking about her health habits.
Asked about what she eats in a day, Katie revealed she ate chicken and sweet potato nachos for dinner, adding, “My boyfriend makes it with chicken breast and roasts sweet potatoes as the chips. We do that a lot and mix beans with it.”
Here’s hoping she spills a few more juicy details inside the Big Brother house!
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