A Place in the Sun presenter and interior expert Ben Hillman revealed the decor disaster that threatened his marriage to his wife, Gaby. The 47-year-old, best known for his work on the property show that helps British couples relocate to sunnier destinations, admitted he made a grave error when choosing colours for the kitchen of their four-bedroom home in Shoreham-by-Sea. He explained how a surprise colour swap went wrong when he decided to take matters into his own hands while Gaby was at her job, working for the NHS.
Speaking to House Beautiful, he revealed: "We've got a concealed door in the kitchen that leads into the utility space. Our kitchen is Tiffany blue, and I thought it would be lovely to open the door and get a pop of orange." The presenter continued: "When Gabby went to work, I painted the room and got two coats on, but when she returned, she was thoroughly unimpressed. The orange is now gone. My marriage was much more important!"
Who is Ben Hillman married to?
When he's not finding new, sunnier homes for couples across the UK with co-hosts Jasmine Harman, Laura Hamilton, and Sara Damergi, the Channel 4 presenter is spending time with his wife of 14 years, Gaby, and their two daughters, Honour and Hope at their home in West Sussex. Ben and Gaby tied the knot in 2011, and while the TV personality mostly keeps his personal life private, he decided to share a sweet message in celebration of their tenth wedding anniversary back in 2021.
Taking to social media, he chatted to his Instagram Stories and explained: "Today is a good day because it is my 10th wedding anniversary. Can you believe, how fantastic is that? And we're going to a little music festival down the road, which I'm super excited about…" Ben also opened up about life as a father during lockdown.
He told The Express Online: "I'm a real home bod, I love being around my family and being around my kids, they're the number one thing in my life." The father-of-two also outlined the struggles he faced when his busy filming schedule resumed and he was stripped of his time with his girls and said: "To be intensely with them for all that time [through lockdown] and then all of a sudden not, that was quite tough."