Dick and Angel Strawbridge have been familiar faces on our TV screens for a number of years thanks to their charming lifestyle programme, Escape to the Chateau.
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The couple have documented their move from the UK to France, serving plenty of inspiration in the process – but it seems their move wasn't all smooth-sailing. The husband and wife, who wed in their gorgeous home in 2015, spoke exclusively to HELLO! in 2020 about life in France, and Angel opened up about the moment she "sobbed" before their big day.
WATCH: Escape to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel open up about family life
Angel, along with Dick, had spent the past several months working day and night renovating and restoring the neglected Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, which had been empty for 40 years. "We were engulfed with exhaustion," she explained. "It was the first time I’d had a bath and I had a little sob.
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"We'd been working 18, 20 or 22 hours a day and were flying high on adrenaline and couldn't lose our focus. Most of the house wasn't done."
She added: "But there was a moment, before people started arriving, when it just didn't matter. Our mental state changed. We put flowers around the place and knew everything was going to be okay."
Dick and Angel spoke exclusively to HELLO!
While most of the renovation is now complete, the chateau is a project that will never end, Angel noted, adding: "The house is evolving and things are being moved around to how they were always meant to be and we have endless outbuildings."
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Dick, 61, and Angel, 42, also opened up about their children's future ambitions for their French abode. "Arthur and Dorothy have plans," Dick explained.
"Arthur wants the orangery as his restaurant. He's a real gourmand and has even started his own branding," added Angel. "Dorothy wants one of the outbuildings, which will be very modern and contemporary. I'm allowed to babysit the two children she's going to have."
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