When they moved into the Big Brother house last month, housemates Nathan King and Rosie Williams had no intention of finding their dream partner.
Now, in their first joint interview since the final last month, Nathan, 24, and Rosie, 29, who was also known as Baked Potato on the show, have told MailOnline how difficult it was when they were faced with accusations their relationship was a ‘showmance.’
The pair admitted that their behaviour was ‘awkward’ at times due to their attempts to keep their romance private from the rest of the house, all the while aware that cameras were watching their every move.
Nathan said: ‘It was a bit mad, and obviously, there was a lot of negative things, but I find it quite funny. I didn’t realise when we came out, and then they said about the showmance, I was so shocked because I just couldn’t believe that people would even view it like that.
Rosie, who was fondly nicknamed ‘Baked Tattie’ by Nathan, added: ‘I thought that because we’re such awkward kind of people, well, especially me, I know I am that, why would they even think that was false? Why would anyone act like that? If we were trying to do something, wouldn’t we do it [better]?’
+19
View gallery
Big Brother stars Nathan King and Rosie Williams have shared the struggles they faced when hit with accusations their relationship was a ‘showmance’
+19
View gallery
The pair formed one of the most unlikely romances in the show’s history, blossoming from a secret chat during a fire evacuation to a full-blown relationship by the series’ end
Nathan continued: ‘I think that’s how we’re looking at it, we know it’s not false, so if that’s what people want to say, then carry on!
‘I’m not very good at talking about my feelings ordinarily, so when you’re on telly, that’s the only time I really did remember ”God, I’m on telly here”, and then to talk about your feelings is really difficult. So I think people have got to take that into account.
Rosie continued: ‘I think so, and I think if we were to have done something, we would have at least made it hotter!’
The former dental admin assistant also noted that after she was evicted, she found the days following her departure ‘really tough,’ as she was faced with a sea of questions about the authenticity of her and Nathan’s relationship.
Nathan also said that he was equally upset by Rosie’s departure as part of the controversial Vault twist, and in a moment that wasn’t aired, he broke down in tears in the Store Room.
Rosie said: ‘I was not good. On the week I came out I was really not good. I was just so surprised that that was even a thing. I couldn’t even believe it. I thought I was going to get told a lot of other things. I just wasn’t expecting that.
‘I didn’t think ”Nathan’s playing a game,” because there is no way. Because I’d been in the house for that long, there was no part of me that thought ”oh maybe he playing a game, and maybe these people are right”, because I know 100% that’s not correct.
‘And then the other thing was, Nathan said, there was a time, after I got evicted, he was in the storeroom – you were crying!’
+19
View gallery
In their first joint interview since the final last month, Nathan said he and Rosie know their relationship ‘isn’t false,’ especially given he’s ‘not very good at talking about his feelings’
+19
View gallery
Rosie also shared that she found questions about the authenticity of her relationship ‘really hard’ after her shock eviction (pictured), and credited Nathan for helping her to ‘see the funny side of it’
Nathan chimed in: ‘I was really, they didn’t show it. They actually phoned my mum, one of the production phoned my mum that day and said ”Nathan’s really had a bad day, he’s struggling, it’s not like him. He was in the storeroom, he was upset, but he’s fine now. He’s cooking with Emma, or something, he’s absolutely fine,” but they didn’t show that.
‘But then you watch, say Late and Live, and they’re saying: ”oh, he doesn’t care. he’s moved on”, but, obviously, I had a couple of days where I was upset. But if I’d have moped around all week, then I’d have got sl****d for that, because they’d say ”look at him, get a grip, you’re going to see her in a few days.”
Rosie continued: ‘That was my biggest thing in the house as well, I just wanted validation from my Mum, just to say, ”is what I’m doing, right?” So then, when I come out of the house, I just wanted validation from Nathan to just say: ”yeah just ignore it”, because I know that he’s pretty good at ignoring things like that, and it’s a laugh. But when he wasn’t there, I just felt like, ”oh, my God, this is overwhelming!”
Noting the reaction from fans to their relationship, Rosie continued: ‘And they said to me: ”Don’t go looking for it like you’ll only get negative stuff if you go looking for it. I didn’t go looking for it. I just kept getting negative stuff, and I wasn’t looking for any of it at all.
‘And I remember there were times where I was literally dissociating from my body because I was like, I just feel like I’ve done everything wrong, and everything I know, how lovely everything was in the house, hadn’t been shown.
‘I was really devastated, because if it was like ”oh, I had a terrible time”, that’s what I got to show for it, then lovely, fabulous. But I had the best time with the best group of people who were the nicest, most genuine people, I think they were.
+19
View gallery
Nathan also shared that he was equally upset by Rosie’s departure as part of the controversial Vault twist, and in a moment that wasn’t aired, he broke down in tears in the Store Room
+19
View gallery
Nathan said he made it ‘glaringly obvious’ he wanted to pursue a relationship with Rosie on the outside, and they finally got the chance to discuss their feelings during a fire drill
+19
View gallery
Rosie and Nathan both noted that many of their conversations with other housemates failed to make the main show, with their cosy moments becoming a defining narrative of the series
‘And also, if you’re going to say something nasty, please stand by that.
‘Don’t just then say something… ”Oh, no, I didn’t like you… oh I did love you.” No, you didn’t just stand by your first. Whatever you say, just stand by it because it’s better if you at least have an opinion that’s accurate. Don’t change it, just stand by it.’
Nathan added: ‘The difference is, I can take it. I’m like, ”come at me. I don’t care”. As long as you’re witty with it. I couldn’t care less what they said, but apparently, my mum had said she’d watched Late and Live, and there was one particular one, she said she actually had turn it off, because it was one that they were going in on me. It’s fine, I know what I signed myself up for, and I can take it. But apparently, they were extremely brutal, and then nice to your face, and that bugs me more than anything.’
Rosie then added: ‘I’m not going to sit here and say ”oh, no, it doesn’t upset me”. Of course it does, but I can take it, I really can.
‘But it’s hard when you’re just hearing flip, flop sides, and also, you’re not there to defend yourself, because you have no idea what’s being shown, of course.’
In the wake of fans’ complaints that Rosie’s exit was ‘unfair,’ she went onto reveal that her father had actually been contacted much earlier than viewers would have expected to record an audio message for her, leading her and Nathan to question whether the show’s Vault twist was introduced at the last minute.
She explained: ‘So I was up for eviction that night, the night after, they then said to my dad ”can you send in an audio message?” And he goes ”ohI don’t really want to do it if she’s going to be like evicted, because it’s going to be a bit of a waste of my time.”
‘And then they said ”oh, no, because the next challenge is going off votes, it’s vote to win, and she’s nowhere near the bottom.’’
Nathan said they question whether bosses decided to ‘move the goalposts,’ after receiving a ‘juicy’ audio message from Hanah Haji’s pals about her relationship with Segun Shodipo, and to reduce the risk of their eviction, they ‘changed it to mix it up with luck,’ as other housemates, such as Nathan, would never have chosen Rosie to join them in the Vault.
Nathan and Rosie were reunited at the live final when he finished in fifth place, but he said even he was stunned to be grilled about whether their romance was genuine during his exit interview.
He said: ‘When I came out, I was buzzing, I was screaming, and I was loving it. I was so full of adrenaline. I absolutely loved it. And then I sat down and I was so buzzed up for the interview, and then I just felt like they just kind of went in on me a bit, and talking about showmances.
‘And I thought, it just kind of really deflated me. And I’m going, ”what’s been said?” and then you start to question everything; has she come out and gone ‘’he’s a d**k, actually it was all a carry-on’’ and I’m thinking ‘‘what the hell’s been said here?’’
‘They threw me to bits as soon as they mentioned the word showmance. I was completely off the ball. I just I didn’t know where to look. I saw Rosie obviously sitting over there, I’m thinking ”what has she been saying? What’s been happening? What have people been saying, and why are they saying this?’’ So that kind of ruined my interview as well for me because I just was so confused.’
Reflecting on spending his final week in the house without Rosie, Nathan said that housemate Emma Morgan, with whom he formed a close friendship in the house, was a huge shoulder of support.
He added: ‘It was so weird because I spent so much time with Rosie and also Emma as well. So it was kind of the three of us were always together. And then when Rosie left, I did feel initially, quite lost, and obviously I was really upset that night.
‘And then I felt like Emma really rallied around… she made an extra effort to make sure I was all right and try and make me laugh because Emma makes me laugh just when I look at her, because she’s just got funny bones, she just is hilarious.’
+19
View gallery
After their romance was brought to light, both Nathan and Rosie decided to throw caution to the wind and explore their connection in the house, eventually making their relationship official
+19
View gallery
While viewers saw them enjoy plenty of smooches on the show, the couple said they tried to abstain from PDA in front of their housemates
+19
View gallery
Reflecting on spending his final week in the house without Rosie, Nathan said housemate Emma Morgan, with who he formed a close friendship in the house, was a huge shoulder of support
Just hours after Rosie’s eviction, Nathan was hauled back into The Vault and told he faced eviction yet again, as part of another shocking twist.
He said: ‘The first night I was obviously upset, I sunk into the red wine predictively, as I would always do, and then the following day they took me back into the vault. I was just f****g fuming I was just so angry. I was like ‘’if they brought me back in here, and my a*s is not going out that door, then they are trying to play with me here.” And then they did do it, and they definitely did that to p**s me right off.’
‘But then we were told we’re finalists, and I think at least my only consolation was I still had Emma. If both of them had gone, I don’t know what I’d have done, I’d have had to latch on to someone that probably didn’t really want to latch onto.
‘So that would have been much more difficult for me. But because I still had Emma there, it did really help, but of course, there was loads of times during that week that I’m thinking and I said to Emma ‘’wouldn’t it be nice if Rosie was here’’, it would have been so nice to actually be in the final together.’
As well as his close bond with Emma, viewers also got a glimpse of Nathan’s friendship with Ali Bromley during the Final Week.
While Nathan said he still views Ali in high regard, his opinions towards her have shifted since the series ended.
Nathan said: ‘So I really got on well with Ali in the house. I really did, me and her had a lot of great conversations, and then, when I came out, I hear a few rumours that she had been talking pretty much about everyone in the house, I think, apart from me! I don’t think she had anything bad to say about me in the Diary Room, which is lovely.
‘But she did say a few things about Rosie, which I thought were curious, so my opinion did change on Ali slightly. I had that day in the house, when I really questioned everything I thought I knew about Ali. It’s quite early on, I think maybe a couple of weeks in, I don’t know if they showed that, but then I actually went to Ali after that, and I said, ‘’listen, I’ve said this about you in the diary room, and I’m really sorry about it, because I don’t think it’s true.’’
‘And I flip flop between it. I think I may have been right that day, the more I see and the more I think back on things [Ali] did deliberately… it’s come across like she was isolated, and that people in the house isolated her and I just want to make it very clear that no one in the house isolated her; Ali isolated herself.
‘There was lots of times where I was like, ”oh, come on, come and sit with us’’, or something maybe happened, and I would come and sit with her. But she deliberately wanted to be isolated, and I just found that curious. I’m not sure what I can deduce from that.’
The pair also offered their thoughts on housemate Lily Benson, viewed as a divisive figure throughout the series, with both agreeing that while they liked her overall, and didn’t particularly mind her ‘messiness and rule-breaking,’ viewers weren’t given a full representation of how ‘difficult’ she could be to live with.
During their first week in the Big Brother house, viewers had little indication that Rosie and Nathan had taken a liking to one another, with the latter admitting that it was following Ryan Bradshaw’s eviction at the end of the first week that they first became closer.
+19
View gallery
+19
View gallery
While she survived that vote-off, two days before her exit, Rosie shared that she was upset by the backlash, with Nathan saying he later learned that the crowd were ‘booing for him instead’
Describing their initial impressions of each other, Rosie admitted that saw Nathan as ‘a friend at first,’ but after seeing him brush off being booed by the crowd during the first live eviction, she began to see him in a different light.
Nathan said: ‘She came across as mental and like a lot of fun. I thought you definitely had my sense of humor as well, which not a lot of people do have, so that’s a big tick for me. And then I think, after kind of the first week, probably when it hit eviction night that first Friday, that’s when we started to probably get closer, I think, and that’s when I thought, ”Oh, yeah, she really is up my street’’.
While Nathan said he made it ‘glaringly obvious’ he wanted to pursue a relationship with Rosie on the outside, they finally got the chance to discuss their feelings when the house was evacuated due to a fire alarm.
However, unbeknownst to them, their chat was still picked up by their microphones, and part of it was aired on Late and Live as part of a bombshell episode which revealed their romance for the first time.
‘We weren’t in the house, and I got told originally that the microphones couldn’t pick up after a certain location, so I thought we were doing it specifically because we didn’t think anything would be picked up there,’ Rosie said.
‘We were not in the house area, we were somewhere else in different buildings. And I thought, ”okay, there is no mic.”
Nathan added: ‘Prior to that, we wanted to talk about it… and I think the thing is from my point of view, if I got it wrong, if I said it on camera in the house – ”I really like you, do you think we should maybe move forward’’ – and then Rosie said ‘’no absolutely not, you’ve got the wrong idea!’’ Then I’d be like ‘’oh, s**t!’’
‘But because we were outside and we thought no one was listening. It was more, ”Well, if we get it wrong, who cares? No one’s going to see it, anyway?’’ But obviously you did.’
Rosie continued: ‘That wasn’t the full conversation. That was just a part of it. But again, because it was so far away, I don’t think it was picked up, the rest of the conversation.’
She went onto admit that she and Nathan had attempted to keep their romance secret from the rest of the house, but the truth was revealed when they shared a brief smooch during a boozy night two days later.
Rosie explained that Nathan broke the news to her that the ‘entire house knew’ about it after she was in The Diary Room, and they were both originally hesitant to discuss their relationship as they didn’t want to ‘disrespect’ their fellow housemates.
Nathan said: ‘I don’t overthink anything, I think you were more worried actually, but less about the public on the outside finding out about it, and more about the people on the inside, the housemates knowing about it, and I was like ”they don’t care.” They didn’t mind as much as I think maybe you thought they did.
Rosie added: ‘Because I know if it was me, and someone was doing that in front of me, I’d be like ‘‘oh, f**k off, get a room!’’ That’s why, it looks quite like there’s quite a lot of things that look like dodgy as well, but I’m just making sure no one’s coming in.
‘I don’t want to be disrespectful to the housemates, I would find that annoying if people were doing that in front of me.
‘And then, at the same time, I had these two things in my head, one is just ”be on the lookout, be respectful to other people”, also to my parents who are watching, and they’re going to be thinking, ”what are you doing? This isn’t like her’’. So I’m thinking that.
‘But then, on the other hand, I thought ”oh I really like him,’’ and I don’t want to be thinking ”no don’t do that’’, it’s just finding the balance. I feel like I just kind of messed it up a bit.
‘I think it has been cut worse than it was, unfortunately. And there is a lot of context that has been taken out. So it looks weirder.’
Rosie and Nathan both noted that many of their conversations with other housemates failed to make the main show, with their cosy moments becoming one of the defining narratives of the series.
Viewers were treated to glimpses of the hilarious pranks they played on each other, with Rosie admitting the games simply stemmed from an attempt to ‘take their minds’ off the hours of downtime they spent in the house.
After deciding to make their relationship official, Nathan told Rosie he loved her just a day before she faced eviction, and she admitted she was stunned when she was booed by the crowd during the live show.
While she survived the vote-off, with Lily and Khaled Khaled the two to be evicted, she shared that she was visibly upset by the backlash, with Nathan saying he later learned that the crowd were ‘booing for him instead.’
Rosie explained: ‘I was having, I don’t know what the word is, but some kind of existential crisis, because I had no idea.. But again, I don’t even think that was shown that much.
‘I don’t think a lot of my chat was aired. So I’m thinking in my head that it was because the stuff I’m talking about is odd, it’s oddball behavior…
‘But that’s what I was thinking in my head, I was like, ”Oh, okay, you’re weird. People don’t like you being weird.’’ But I’m just thinking about, why have I therefore just watched Khaled and Lily, who have been cheered so hard, who people obviously love, then leave, and I’m there to be booed.
‘And I just thought, ”I’m here for the wrong reasons. People want me here for the wrong reasons.’’ And I thought, maybe I’m doing something that I’m unaware of that is keeping me in, because it’s not because they like me.’
Nathan added: ‘If I had got booed in the house, I’d have been pretty clear on why. There was plenty to go on, whether it’s Nigel Farage, whether it’s being a straight shooter, then I’d have got it.
+19
View gallery
In the weeks since they departed the house, Nathan and Rosie have proven the doubters wrong, quickly travelling to their respective homes to meet each other’s families
+19
View gallery
The pair also offered their thoughts on housemate Lily Benson, agreeing that while they liked her overall viewers weren’t given a full representation of how ‘difficult’ she could be to live with
+19
View gallery
Just days after leaving the house, Nathan and Rosie jetted off on holiday together, and have also shared they’re hoping to pursue a career in radio
‘But I think, from Rose’s point of view, it wasn’t clear why you were getting booed. So that’s kind of where the confusion was, whereas if I’d have got booed, I was like ‘’I don’t care. You don’t like me, because whatever else that’s fine, carry on.’’
‘I thought, she’s such a lovely person, what the hell are you booing her for? I just couldn’t get my head around it in the house. Obviously now coming out, it’s because of [me] and that’s like, get me! Don’t attack Rosie!’
But in the weeks since they departed the house, Nathan and Rosie have proven the doubters wrong, quickly travelling to their respective homes to meet each other’s families.
Despite his right-wing opinions clashing with Rosie’s mother, who she describes as a ‘left-wing socialist,’ Nathan said he’s already won over her family, though they have kept any conversations of politics to a minimum.
Discussing how they’ve navigated their romance since the show ended, Rosie praised Nathan for ‘helping’ her to manage the social media storm around their relationship with good humour.
Rosie shared: ‘Honestly, amazing, because it’s nice that you don’t have to feel like ”OK we’re being watched,’’. The other thing is, I feel like I know with me that I have been really appreciative of Nathan…
‘I feel like, I have kind of always struggled with that kind of thing, and then it’s nice to have someone who kind of just like finds the funny side in it, and I feel like that’s really helped me in a lot of ways, and I just feel really appreciative of that, because it’s nice having someone who’s been through that same situation, and it’s hard to explain when people haven’t been in it, and then to come out and it be kind of portrayed in a way, I think ”I wasn’t expecting that.”
‘That’s why I think I found the first week the hardest, because I don’t even have… no one will really believe me because of what everyone’s seen.
‘So it’s nice that when Nathan came out, I said ”Nathan don’t even look, it’s not worth it, don’t even look’’. And he’s literally just going on, he’s looking at these things, and it just says ”Nathan should have his feet amputated,” and he’s laughing so much!’
‘I get more upset when the negative comments are about him, because I know that’s not what you’re like. So I get more upset. And he’s just laughing about it.
+19
View gallery
The couple also shared that given the vast distance between their respective homes, they are planning to move in together in the future
‘I feel like he’s been really helpful to me, but also, it’s not hard, but you feel like you constantly have to explain yourself? Even though I like to explain myself, I love to get my point across, it’s like ”why should we?” We know we’re good. So why do we have to?’
Nathan added: ‘I do find it funny when people criticise me. I also think, it was strange coming out, but it’s been great, having Rosie. I’m so delighted that I went into Big Brother, I’ve said it a million times, but I went into Big Brother expecting to not even like anyone, never mind to come out with someone that I love in Rosie, and a best pal in Emma.’
‘There’s just so much to look forward to. It didn’t end on the Friday that we came out, it just kind of started, so it’s great.’
The couple also shared that given the vast distance between their respective homes, they are planning to move in together in the future.
Nathan revealed: ‘I would say we’re going to move in together aren’t we? I think that much is obvious. That’s obviously what we’re going to do, this is not going to be practical and obviously we want to be together as well.
‘Don’t ask me where, we don’t know where! Emma wants us to come to Manchester! We don’t know where but somewhere!’
Rosie added: ‘I’ve been worried because I’ve got a dog and stuff like that, and I’m just trying to work out, it’s just the logistics of it, it’s all well and good saying ”cool’’ but we will, we definitely will!’
