Lee Sharpe has got married – 14 years after looking for his perfect match on ‘Celebrity Love Island’.
The retired footballer – who appeared on the very first series of dating show in 2005 – has tied the knot with partner Lucie Gardner in an intimate ceremony on the Amalfi coast in Italy.
The loved-up couple – who share two-year-old son Leo together – first met in 2011, and the former Manchester Untied star later proposed at the Cheltenham Festival horse racing event on Ladies Day in March 2017.
On the big day, Lee wore a grey three piece suit complete with a black bow tie while Lucie stunned in a halterneck white wedding dress with a diamante waist and plunging neckline.
It was very different for the former sportsman back in 2003, when he retired from football and went on to appear on reality TV, kicking off with ‘Celebrity Wrestling’ in 2005 before joining the cast of ‘Celebrity Love Island’ the same year.
Back then, the original run of the dating show was hosted by Patrick Kielty and Kelly Brook, with a host of famous faces looking for love.
However, Lee – who also tried his hand at ‘Dancing On Ice’ in 2007 – didn’t find a partner, and it was Jayne Middlemiss and Fran Cosgrave who won the series.
The programme was axed after a second season the following year, before launching a revival – featuring the general public, rather than celebrities – in 2015.
The current fifth series kicked off this week, with the likes of AJ Pritchard’s brother Curtis competing alongside boxer Tyson Fury’s sibling Tommy.