Weddings can be expensive at the best of times, but Martine McCutcheon and her husband Jack McManus ended up spending "thousands" on donations to the mafia.
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The EastEnders actress and the singer, who recently celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary, reflected on their lavish Lake Como nuptials back in 2012. While they had invested in making the day special with Martine wearing a lace Pronovias gown and the couple setting off fireworks over the lake, they also opened up about the "hidden costs" they weren't anticipating – and how Jack's refusal to pay led to a "tense" situation.
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When asked about their vow renewal plans during an appearance on The Chris and Rosie Ramsey Show, Jack explained: "It would be nice to do something chilled. Our wedding was lovely, I wouldn’t change it for the world but it was quite full on. We had these marvellous wedding planners who were great.
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“We were like, ‘We’d love fireworks’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, you need to make a donation to the lake’. It’s a donation, like to the mafia. We had to pay them so many hidden costs.
The couple had to pay to set off fireworks over Lake Como
"It was like, ‘So, you want to have boats in this part of the lake? Ok, you have to make a donation”. This wasn’t hundreds, it was thousands."
He added the final straw came on their actual wedding day when the mafia demanded "a donation" after finding out the couple had sold their pictures to a magazine. "We just said no," Jack said, which left Martine "petrified."
Martine and Jack got married in Lake Como
She said: "I went, 'Oh my god, there’s going to be a dead horse’s head in our bed!' I was petrified. I was like, 'Don’t stand your ground now, Jack please be quiet'. But he wouldn’t make another donation."
Jack added he "wasn’t so bold as I am now," but said the situation "was all very scary and tense."
The couple's vow renewal in September was much more relaxed, as they exchanged vows in front of their son Rafferty at the five-star Beaverbrook hotel before enjoying a special meal cooked by the seven-year-old at home.
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