What’s behind Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan’s ‘quiet uncoupling’. Insiders tell all to ALEX DOYLE
Since they married more than a decade ago, Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright have been inseparable.
Known as ‘Mark and Michelle’, the onscreen stars have given joint interviews, walked glitzy red carpets hand in hand and even gone into business together to launch the sportswear brand Aytee7, leaving many to bill them as TV’s answer to Posh and Becks.
They have documented their shared life through Instagram for their combined 9.3million followers and welcomed their daughter, Palma, in March 2025.
But now I can reveal that the pair, both 39, who live in a £3.5million mansion near Epping in Essex, appear to be quietly uncoupling their business interests as they tailor their social media to their own personal brands – and now barely feature on one another’s accounts at all.
The former The Only Way Is Essex star, Mark, has not appeared prominently on his wife’s Instagram page (boasting 7.3million followers) since January of this year, when she shared family photographs from a free holiday to Abu Dhabi’s five-star Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island resort.
Their joint family account ‘wrightyhome’, which the former Coronation Street actress has not featured on since 2023, is now idle.
A source close to the couple tells me: ‘Recently Mark and Michelle have quietly moved away from working together professionally, with many of their former joint ventures quietly falling by the wayside.
‘Most recently it was their fitness clothing brand Aytee7, which they’ve closed down. They would appear on their family home account but they no longer update that either. They also both work with M&S but not together and they’ve refused to work together for years.’
The power couple launched Aytee7, which marked their first formal business venture together, in 2022. The premium gym wear brand was sold exclusively through online retailer Very and had over 40 items in the collection.
Michelle and Mark posed in the range for a campaign in a bid to boost sales – as did their supportive family members. They even made a joint appearance together at the Trafford Centre in her native Manchester in 2024 for the brand.
Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright have been inseparable since getting married, going into business together and walking glitzy red carpets hand in hand
Michelle has continued to run her own swimwear line Orfila Bee, using her millions of fans to promote its products and gain traction for her other brand endorsements
As the Daily Mail first revealed, the brand quietly closed in 2025, though their company MYSA Active remains trading according to Companies House.
Despite their joint business ending, Michelle has remained close with Very and has her own clothing line without Mark, under her name.
She has also continued to run her own swimwear line Orfila Bee, which she established in 2020 with her best friend and co-founder Rachael Antal. The company’s name celebrates her Gibraltarian heritage, while Bee is a ‘heartfelt nod’ to her Mancunian roots.
Michelle has used her millions of fans to promote its products, and to gain traction for her other brand endorsements and collaborations, too.
Just this year alone she has partnered with well-known brands Rituals, Vinted, Marks & Spencer and Estée Lauder earning six-figures for the social media posts.
Her firm Rosia Promotions shows a healthy balance sheet, with unaudited figures filed at Companies House and seen by the Daily Mail showing more than £5million in the bank.
Meanwhile, Mark hosts his weekend radio show with best pal, singer Olly Murs, on Heart Radio and is an ambassador for M&S, outdoor machinery company Husqvarna and golf firm Foresight Sports.
As they separate their business ventures, many have been surprised that Michelle was so willing to pin her flag to Mark, known purely for being a reality television personality for so long given that she is, after all, one of the most sought-after TV actresses in Britain.
The pair met by chance in Dubai in 2012 while on separate trips in the holiday hotspot.
Michelle, who found fame thanks to her role in Corrie where she played Tina McIntyre, moved in with Mark almost instantly despite those in their close circles never being fully convinced it would last.
She shocked bosses at Corrie in 2014 when she handed in her notice from playing to relocate from Manchester to be with Mark in Essex. In response, they killed off her character, firmly closing the door on ever returning to the Weatherfield cobbles.
But she had the last laugh, securing high-profile roles several years later in military drama Our Girl, Sky’s Brassic and playing the wife of Bobby Moore in an ITV drama about the footballer.
Mark was formerly just known as Celebrity Big Brother star Jack Tweed’s ‘friend’ and was regularly found in C-list celebrity circles, before he got his big break in 2010 when he joined The Only Way Is Essex. He starred in the show for three series.
In 2017 Mark set his sights on Hollywood and relocated to present entertainment show Extra by Warner Bros, rubbing shoulders with A-listers while Michelle decided to remain in the UK as her career continued to flourish on the other side of the pond. After two years, he quit to be closer to his wife.
The power couple launched Aytee7 in 2022, with the premium gym wear brand marking their first formal business venture together
Michelle is also set to star in ITV’s big new crime drama The Blame alongside Douglas Booth
Sources close to the couple tell me they could have had their own reality show by now, along with the likes of the Rooneys and Furys, though have declined offers.
‘They could cash in massively with a family TV show or couples gig but that hasn’t happened either’, my insider tells me.
‘Michelle appears to have a growing desire to focus on her own career and projects without Mark and he is having to step back and respect that.’
Indeed, Michelle’s career has skyrocketed in the last several years, making her one of the most successful actresses on our TV screens today.
She is consistently offered leading roles in series from the biggest channels such as the BBC and ITV, including streaming giant Netflix who, I’m told, hold her in very high regard.
Michelle made her Netflix debut in 2024 playing the lead role in the adaption of Harlan Coben’s novel Fool Me Once and in the same year played the leading role in Ten Pound Poms alongside Faye Marsay and Warren Brown, which told the story of Britons leaving for Australia post-war in search of a better life.
Michelle is also set to star in ITV’s big new crime drama The Blame alongside Douglas Booth.
While I’m assured that Mark and Michelle are still completely in love and there are no issues with their marriage, Michelle has also enjoyed two girls’ trips in the last month without him – a trip to Majorca and a weekend in London just last week.
Meanwhile, her devoted husband Mark is having a hard time landing TV roles. Unlike his wife, he is not viewed as ‘hot property’ by executives.
Mark’s only remaining television project, BBC daytime series Clean It, Fix It, has been renewed for another series, surviving the Corporation’s cuts – for now.
He joined the show in 2024, which was given much fanfare by the press office at the time and viewed as a way to boost the profile of the series.
‘It’s hard for Mark because he hasn’t had a big TV job in years after falling out with ITV and being pushed out of Soccer Aid.
‘He’d love nothing more than to be back on primetime TV.
‘He was cast on Celebrity Bake Off for Channel 4 this year but wants something more permanent.’
Mark angered ITV executives after he pulled out of The Games, its sport reality show, at the eleventh hour reportedly by text message in 2022.
Previous to his daytime pivot, his short-lived adventure series with his family aired on the BBC in 2023. It saw his father ‘Big Mark’ and his brother Josh star in a A Wright Family Holiday as cameras followed them on a road trip across Britain.
It drew controversy at the time, with its critics accusing the BBC of ‘wasting’ licence payers’ money to fund their ‘holiday’ and did not return.
As the pair disentangle their business relationship, those comparisons with Posh and Becks are seeming ever more far-fetched.
