Hugo Millington and Francesca Nicholls

I found watching the episode back highly traumatic. When you step outside of yourself and see how you interact with people, it is scary. I didn’t realise how annoying I was! The show focused on me putting on a posh voice, but I was being sarcastic and that wasn’t captured in the episode. People on Twitter were like,Why is not she being herself?I was just taking the piss out of Hugo. Don’t get me wrong, when he walked in, I thought, Thank God, he’s good looking, but I wish I hadn’t come across as only interested because he was really posh.

I was gutted when Hugo said he didn’t fancy me on the show. I didn’t think we’d end up getting married, but I had hoped we could have seen where it went. After the TV date, his hyper-energetic mood calmed down and I saw the real Hugo. We talked about everything: past relationships and what we were going to do with our lives. He was so different from the TV version down-to-earth and genuinely lovely. He was also conscious of having hurt my feelings and was very nice to me. We started messaging after that and then we went clubbing in London. We got off with each other in the club, and went back to his flat. It’s absolutely stunning. It felt like a Bridget Jones film, as I stumbled around, going, How have I ended up in this beautiful palace?We didn’t sleep together because I can’t have sex with someone unless I’m in a relationship with them, but I did spend most of the next day there. We kissed more and we even watched First Dates. After that, I could tell it wasn’t going anywhere.

At the end of our next night out together (all four of us), Hugo conked out on the bed and I slept next to him because I didn’t want to sleep on the sofa. Now we are friends and we’d only ever go out as a four. I broke up with my last serious boyfriend a year ago and I’m hoping we will get back together. When I went on First Dates, I wanted to see what else was out there, but it has made me realise that there’s someone I love right on my doorstep. Francesca and I got on very well. Thank God, really, because had it been two hours of really awkward conversation, I probably would have died. What they do not show, is that the restaurant where it is filmed is only a third full. So everyone else was on a normal awkward first date and then I barrelled in loudly, breaking the eardrums of the kitchen staff.

After the meal, we ran into Francesca’s twin sister, Claudia, and her date Marcus, and went for more drinks to find out how we all did. We ended up getting on so well that we decided to arrange a proper night out. Since then, it is become a regular thing. I’m very much on the mates front with Francesca. It’s more friendly than romantic. We didn’t kiss after the show but when we went out to Heaven about a month afterwards, we got drunk and snogged once or twice when I was totally battered. She’s also crashed at my place. I’m seeing someone new now but it is very casual. We’re dating around. It’s all good fun. I was on a second episode of First Dates and they asked me to do a third, but I thought, They’ve seen enough of me. I didn’t set out for a TV career or anything, but Made In Chelsea got in touch with me. I didn’t have any luck at the audition, though. When I’m out, every person who recognises me from First Dates asks me to pull the Buzz Lightyear face, and it is as many guys as it is girls. All I wanted was to make people laugh and I feel like I have accomplished that.
Where are the First Dates couples now? Cosmopolitan catches up … Ltf