Watch Millie Radford & Harley Passmore’s ‘nightmare’ argument that almost put their winter wedding in £9k venue on hold
MILLIE Radford and Harley Passmore happily tied the knot back in November last year, but it’s been revealed that a ‘nightmare’ argument almost put their nuptials on hold.
The couple said their vows at Wennington Hall in Lancashire, a venue that has capacity for 140 guests in the main hall for the wedding meal, and accommodates 250 guests in the evening.
But it isn’t cheap to get married there, with packages starting at a whopping £8,995.
And in tonight’s episode of 22 Kids & A Wedding, the first of the Radford family’s latest series, we saw Millie, 23, and her partner Harley, reach breaking point.
Whilst planning their dream wedding after Harley’s romantic proposal in Florida, with the stresses of life, work and children, their relationship was put under duress.
And things soon reached breaking point when Harley lost his job, putting their wedding on hold and leaving the couple at a loose end.
Whilst Noel, 54, and Sue, 49, had agreed to help contribute to the cost of the wedding, planning their big day proved incredibly stressful for the pair.
Harley explained: “I need to get some pennies in for mine and Millie’s wedding. I do like Sue and Noel and obviously I wouldn’t let them pay for it all.”
But wedding planning soon led to a lot of bickering between the pair, as Millie admitted: “It’s creating a lot of tension between us both trying to organise a wedding and be parents.”
Harley then chimed in: “Honestly, it’s stressful. I wish I could just be at work every day.”
Father-of-22 Noel soon recognised: “Getting to the altar for Harley and Millie isn’t going to be easy, there’s a lot of pressure on them.”
To which Sue agreed: “The stresses of planning a wedding are a big test on whether or not you’re gonna get through that.”
But after Sue and Millie looked at wedding venues and Millie tried on wedding dresses, disaster struck when Harley lost his job.
Harley, who shares two children with Millie, explained: “I have lost my job. Basically I got a call and he said ‘it’s obviously not working out for you’.
Who's who in the Radford family?
The Radfords are Britain's biggest family with 22 children.
Here are the kids from eldest to youngest include:
- Chris – born May 7, 1989
- Sophie – born December 13, 1993
- Chloe – born July 31, 1995
- Jack – born April 9, 1997
- Daniel – born March 3, 1999
- Luke – born October 1, 2000
- Millie Radford – born August 29, 2001
- Katie – born November 14, 2002
- James – born October 17, 2003
- Ellie – born May 6, 2005
- Aimee – born April 21, 2006
- Josh – born July 3, 2007
- Max – born December 11, 2008
- Tillie – born May 2, 2010
- Oscar – born October 22, 2011
- Casper, – born October 3, 2012
- Hallie – born June 3, 2015
- Phoebe – born July 24, 2016
- Archie – born September 18, 2017
- Bonnie – born November 6, 2018
- Heidie – born April 3, 2020
“A load of stuff went on with Millie so I had to stay at home with the kids and obviously we couldn’t get a babysitter, so that’s why he said it’s not working out for me.
“It’s going to be very, very hard, because obviously I’ve got no income whatsoever now. What are we actually going to do about the wedding?”
They can’t expect us two to pay for everything. If they want this wedding to happen, they’ll have to start cutting corners
Noel Radford
Upon hearing the news, Noel confessed: “That’s a nightmare. The idea was Sue and I take the bulk of the cost, but it’s only right Harley should chip in and make an effort to pay for something.
“They can’t expect us two to pay for everything. If they want this wedding to happen, they’ll have to start cutting corners – on dresses, anything.”
And Millie and Harley soon reached crisis point, when a series of arguments quickly snowballed.
The mum-of-three admitted: “It is quite hard to be happy and put a smile on today.
“There’s still arguments at the minute, just major things that don’t need to be such a fuss over, over the wedding, are a major fuss.
“I was really angry with Harley.”
It is quite hard to be happy and put a smile on today
Millie Radford
Harley then confessed: “When I lost my job, obviously we were both upset.
“I felt Millie was blaming it all like it was all my fault. We do turn on each other.
“That pressure affects me really bad. I just sit there and my mind is on overtime, it’s just going and going and going.”
And after losing his job, with Harley at home all day, every day, tension quickly grew.
Millie snapped: “[He’s] lazy. Sits on Xbox all day, snappy, out of routine and doesn’t help around the house, at all.”
A huge argument quickly erupted, as Harley was heard saying: “Leave me alone. I feel like I can’t do anything right.
“I’ve had enough of it. I might just put my shoes on and go. Wedding off.”
She keeps saying it’s over and that we bicker all the time
Harley Passmore
To which Millie replied: “I’ve had enough of it, I’m not sure I can go through with this.”
The next day, Harley shared: “Me and Millie fell out yesterday. She ended up going to her mum’s house.
“She keeps saying it’s over and that we bicker all the time.
“That was really sad. I feel lost.”
How does family-of-22 the Radfords afford to live?
AS Britain’s biggest family, it may come as no surprise that Sue and Noel Radford must have some hefty bills.
Between them, they have a whopping 22 children and seven dogs, which often has some people wonder how they manage their money.
The Radfords support themselves with the proceeds of Noel’s bakery, The Radford Pie Company, which is located near their home.
On their website, it says: “We have owned our own lovely bakery since 1999 which is how we manage to provide for (and feed) our huge and expanding family as well as for the local people of Heysham and Morecambe.”
The family expanded their business to cater to online orders placed across the UK.
The business is a family affair, with Noel at the helm, and some of their children helping out.
The older kids, who are working at least part-time, don’t get a free ride as they’re made to pay a small amount of rent to their parents.
“Us older ones do pay a little bit of board. Granted it’s not a lot but I’m also trying to save up for my own house at the moment.” their daughter Chloe said in a video on the YouTube channel.
Sue added: “We’ve always said if you want to buy somewhere, renting is a bit of dead money, so we’d rather you saved that money up and stayed at home a bit longer.
“I also do believe they should pay board if they are earning. We’ve always been brought up by our parents that we had to pay board.”
Noel and Sue famously don’t rely on benefits for their bumper brood and live off their pie shop for income.
They also revealed they make money from brand partnerships on social media.
The Radford family stars in their own reality TV show 22 Kids and Counting – which has run for four series.
Brand expert Andy Barr believes Noel and Sue have been paid less than £10,000 for each show.
He told the Daily Mail: “The typical fee per episode is going to be in the thousands rather than the tens or hundreds of thousands that people often think is the case with TV shows of this nature.
“If they continue to get commissioned for a fourth or fifth season, then they are going to be able to command a higher fee.”
He estimates that the Radfords make £ 5,000 an episode.
But after a few wise words from Noel and a paintballing day out for Harley and some of the Radfords, things appeared to be on the up.
Noel beamed: “What Harley needs to see is that he’ll never be alone. If he marries Millie, he knows he’ll always have a Radford that has his back.
And whilst at a spa day with mum Sue and some of her sisters, Millie shared: “If me and Harley were to split up, I’d be very upset and I’d feel really disappointed in myself.
“I feel like I should maybe listen to Harley a bit more and maybe understand where he’s coming from. I think it’s really important we communicate and I know that we will fix it.”
But fortunately for the pair, things quickly got back on track, as the very next week, Harley found himself back at work.
Harley beamed: “I’m going to go home to Millie and the kids and say I do want the wedding to go ahead.
“I appreciate everything she does for me and the kids.
“Noel gave me a bit of advice saying today is a different day to tomorrow.”