‘I feel judged’: VICKY PATTISON reveals shock reason her sex life with husband Ercan Ramadan has dwindled, his bedroom request… and the problem that saw them visit a sex therapist

Vicky Pattison has an uncanny ability to turn life’s lemons into reality TV lemonade. Eight years ago, while filming a documentary about her upcoming wedding to businessman John Noble, she was forced to cancel the wedding when she learned her fiancé was allegedly cheating on her.

But while many would have been devastated by such social humiliations, Vicky reimagined her wedding documentary as a breakup show instead.

Having grown up on screen from the loud, brash twentysomething reality show Geordie Shore to today’s slightly less boisterous 38-year-old self, she says: ‘I think the people who followed me watched my heart break, watched me cry and didn’t know if I was ever going to be happy after that.’

Two years ago, she finally married former builder Ercan Ramazan, whom she met on Instagram, and made a brief appearance in the TV series The Only Way Is Essex.

The couple properly celebrated their special day on My Big Fat Geordie Wedding. ‘It is a great feeling for everyone to see that I found that moment, that happiness with Ercan,’ he says. ‘And I guess the next episode is no different.’

Next up, naturally, on the kids and their new two-part E4 series Vicky Pattison: Maybe, Baby? she and Ercan discuss the possibility of starting a family.

As he approaches 40, he worries that he needs to make a decision quickly. ‘I’m afraid one day I’ll wake up and realize holidays, bags and bedtimes aren’t that important,’ he says. ‘I would be devastated if I missed the chance to become a mother.’

It’s a typical Vicky show – all enthusiasm and emotion – and while the chemistry between her and Ercan is evident, their initial ambivalence about starting a family is equally obvious.

Vicky’s latest show tells about her and her husband Ercan’s decision to start a family

‘I’m very career-oriented and ambitious,’ he says. ‘In my twenties I waited for the penny to drop and thought, ‘God, I really want to start a family’, but that moment never came.’

In her twenties, Vicky became one of reality TV’s powerhouses; She first rose to fame in the 2011 series Geordie Shore, which followed the lives of a group of heavily tanned teenagers on Tyneside, and later appeared on shows including I’m A Celebrity, where her hotness led to her being crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2015, and last year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

However, her marriage to Ercan in 2024 made her think again. ‘Having that stability and love has definitely changed how I feel about having a family. But there was never a moment when I said, “I’m dying to be a mother.” ‘I think the idea for this show came from the question of whether we want to have a family.’

Ercan, 32, is six years younger than Vicky and says that’s a problem. ‘When I turned 35 he was in his late 20s and I know how I felt in my late 20s; Having children was not in my area of ​​interest. But even though I knew we needed to start having these conversations, it didn’t feel like the right time.’

So a few years ago they made the ‘responsible’ decision to freeze their eggs and embryos and Maybe Baby? He checks on them at the London clinic where they are hiding. ‘I wanted to give our relationship a chance without rushing this invisible timeline. But I was also aware of the ticking of my biological clock.’

Perhaps further increasing the pressure on the show, Ercan claims that if they decide to become parents, he wants Vicky to carry his children rather than resorting to adoption or surrogacy, which are options explored in the series.

‘I think if you ask the majority of men and women, having their own children would be their first choice,’ says Vicky. ‘But there’s not a lot of information about surrogacy and adoption… and there’s a lot of judgment.’

Vicky’s outspokenness has made her a huge hit with her 5.5 million Instagram followers, and she pulls absolutely no punches on the show. At one point he even enlists the help of a sex therapist to discuss the couple’s declining love life over the past eight years. ‘People think I’m pretty crazy, swinging in front of the chandeliers every night. But I’m so boring. ‘I’m actually a bit of an honest person.’

He admits the couple is less active now, and says he doesn’t like having sex when his two dogs are at home, which for some slightly improbable reason means he’s worried they’ll find out what he’s been up to.

‘So does this matter?’ asks the therapist. “That’s what it looks like to me,” says Vicky. ‘I feel judged by my workers!’ When the therapist asks what they would like to see happen in terms of their sexual dynamic, Ercan replies: ‘Turn up the numbers, really.’ Vicky glanced at him. ‘You’re so romantic,’ he replies.

He says the dynamic of the couple’s relationship is very progressive. ‘I’m the breadwinner in the traditional sense and Erc is more of a caregiver.’ The couple even signed a prenup before getting married. While Vicky appears on many television shows (he also appears on our screens this month with The Great Celebrity Bake Off), Ercan runs his online men’s clothing business from home.

Vicky will be on our screens again this month with The Great Celebrity Bake Off

So, if the couple decides to have a child, have they considered the possibility of Ercan staying at home? ‘Well, you see how this plays out in the show,’ he says. ‘Coming from a very traditional Turkish Cypriot background, I am very proud of how he has adapted to our way of life, even if it is not what many of his family and friends would have expected.’

Still, he’s a ‘progressive man and you have to be to be married to me,’ she grins. ‘I’m definitely too much for many men. I think I’m going to emasculate a lot of people, but our dynamic really works for us.’

Vicky Pattison: Maybe baby?, Tuesday, 9pm; Wed, 21.10, E4.