A year after confirming their relationship, Max George and Maisie Smith are still going strong – despite admitting they're currently “homeless”.
The couple competed against each other on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, but it wasn’t until months after they both took part in last year’s arena tour that love blossomed.
Fast-forward to today and the pair are owners of their own Manchester property, with big plans for their future. But their first challenge is to finish renovating their pad, which Max says is more like a building site than a home.
Speaking exclusively to OK!, the couple confess they’re like “two 50-year-olds” who are busy arguing over shades of paint.
“We haven’t got a kitchen and the sofa is thick with dust, so we’re literally at his mum’s house,” says Maisie, who previously played Tiffany Butcher in EastEnders for 10 years off and on.
“That’s why we go on holiday so much, because we haven’t got a kitchen at home. We’re like, ‘We’ll go to Dubai’ just so we can have something to eat.”
While fixing up the new place is an exciting time for the couple, it has also been a source of conflict. “We’re like a little married couple – we’re like two 50-year-olds who don’t leave the house any more,” says Maisie.
“I want pink walls and he wants white ones, so that’s pretty much the depth of our arguments. And he tried to put a shelf up with Super Glue, so that speaks for itself.”
For the record, Max reveals the couple now have pink walls – not that he’ll be living with them for long. “No doubt, as soon as it’s done, Maisie will be at the theatre and we’ll have to come back down to London, so we’ll never live in it!” he jokes.
When the couple first announced they were official, their 13-year age gap – Maisie is 22 and Max is 35 – raised a few eyebrows. But The Wanted singer says he doesn’t care about the critics. “I don’t know if we proved anyone wrong – we’ve just proved us right, I guess,” he says. “We’re still here, so I think we’re doing alright.”
As well as designing the perfect home with Max, Maisie has been busy making waves in the world of musical theatre.
She impressed us all on the Strictly dance floor three years ago when she reached the final with partner Gorka Márquez and, although the pair lost out to Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse, her dancing dream was far from over.
Last year, she landed the lead role of Fran in Strictly Ballroom: The Musical, alongside former Strictly professional dancer Kevin Clifton and she’s now gunning for her next part.
“I’d love The Greatest Showman. That’s the big dream – singing, dancing and acting,” she says. “I’m the girl for the role, even if I do say so myself!”
Max firmly agrees. “She’s a ridiculous singer,” he says of Maisie. “It’s well annoying because I thought, ‘She can dance and act, but I can sing’, but she’s a much better singer than I am. It is annoying.”
Maisie started out in EastEnders as a child and there have been rumours about a possible return to Albert Square. So, would she rule it out? “I’ve been there since I was six years old – it’s not a show that people ever leave,” she says. “I’m sure I’ll be back at some point.”
In March 2022, Max lost his friend and bandmate Tom Parker at the age of 33, after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. Although Max and Maisie were just friends at the time, she supported him through his heartache and he says Tom would have been fully on board with his choice of girlfriend.
“When Maisie was on Strictly, on the very first night Tom said, ‘The girl from EastEnders is well cute, isn’t she?’” says Max. “I replied, ‘She’s dead nice mate – she’s lovely.’”
When it comes to whether the band would reunite as a foursome, Manchester-born Max has mixed feelings. “Tom’s voice was unbelievable and he was such a presence on stage with us,” he explains. “He was like one of front men and so it would be difficult – I think we’d all have to give it that extra 20% to fill in.”
Tom’s untimely death left his widow Kelsey Parker to bring up their two young children, Aurelia and Bodhi, alone. And Kelsey recently said she had been subjected to constant trolling, after revealing she was in a new relationship with electrician Sean Boggans.
“As long as she’s happy and the kids are happy, then I’m happy – that’s all that we want for her,” Max says. “Yes, Tom’s death still hurts, but you have to move on with your own life. I met Maisie and my life became the best it’s ever been, so I feel really grateful.”
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