In an exclusive interview and photoshoot with HELLO! magazine, the parents of former The Only Way is Essex star Lydia Bright have revealed they are going to marry after almost 40 years together. Debbie Douglas and Dave Bright – who have fostered more than 250 children and raised four of their own – plan to marry in August in a celebration that will see Lydia, 28, take on bridesmaid duties with her two sisters and two of their foster sisters.
The proposal was recorded on the family's hit reality podcast The Brights, which rocketed to No.1 in the British iTunes podcast charts on its release in October. The ceremony will take place in the local church followed by a party in a marquee at the family home. "We’ve never got married because life gets in the way," Debbie tells HELLO!. "I always worry about what everyone else wants – and there’s always something else to plan. But I feel like it’s our time to do something for ourselves now."
Debbie Douglas and Dave Bright are getting married
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The idea of marrying first came about after Dave, 61, had a cancer scare. "Dave is fine now, but it was a worrying time and a big eye-opener,"Debbie said. "I realised there were still so many things we needed to do – and one of them was marriage. We got in the car outside the hospital, looked at each other and decided to get married."
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"It's going to be such an amazing day and a lovely memory for us all to have," Lydia adds. In the interview, Lydia also reveals exclusively that she has recently reunited with her boyfriend Lee Cronin. "We had some time apart and then he realised I was the best thing that ever happened to him," she reveals, adding that she is delighted to see her parents walk down the aisle. "It makes me so happy that my parents are finally tying the knot. They've gone through ups and downs and they've worked very hard all their lives. They've always loved each other, but I feel like they're the happiest they've ever been."
To read the full interview, pick up the latest copy of HELLO, out Monday 15 April