X Factor star Samantha Chawner ties knot with 'magical' wedding in Bolton
16.03.2024 - 23:53
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Reality TV star Samantha Chawner has tied the knot with the love of her life in a 'magical' wedding ceremony at Bolton's Albert Hall.
Wearing an ivory bridal gown Samantha, orginally from Wigan, exchanged rings with husband Matthew Parkinson, 39, from Bolton, during a ceremony on Friday (March 15) that was followed by a reception at nearby Farnworth Cricket Club.
The 36-year-old has vowed to use the big day as a chance to turn the page in her life story, the Mirror reports.
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Samantha said: "It felt magical as I walked down the aisle towards Matthew in my beautiful dress and veil to the sound of Shania Twain's From This Moment On. Suddenly, everything that happened before floated away and I was so ready to start my new life as Matthew's wife."
Samantha came to attention as part of the Chawner family and their multiple reality TV appearances. Her first was when younger sister Emma appeared on The X Factor in 2007. After judge Simon Cowell branded a tearful Emma a "flump" who sang "like a baby", Samantha, mum Audrey and dad Philip burst into the audition room to challenge him.
The video in which Simon blamed the parents for being pushy and giving Emma "false hope" went viral. Emma tried again in 2009, with Samantha by her side also singing Mariah Carey's Hero for moral support, only to flop a second time.
Next, the outspoken family who weighed a combined 83 stone and were all out of work appeared in Lorraine Kelly's series Big Fat Challenge. The Biography Channel show aimed to give them a life makeover and it partially worked, as Samantha lost weight and landed a hospitality job at Manchester United.
But as the Chawners' notoriety grew, the