IT was like a scene straight out of a rom com when Ryan Thomas popped the question to Lucy Mecklenburgh in Positano, Italy, back in June 2019, less than two years after they started dating – and it seemed like the pair would waste no time throwing a huge celeb wedding.
But almost seven years later, the pair haven’t got anywhere close to an altar, and insiders are now telling The Sun they claim to know the real reason their plans to tie the knot appear to be permanently on ice.
Initially, the official line from the couple- who fell in love in 2017 while filming Channel 4 show Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls – was that their nuptials were delayed due to life getting in the way.
After all, the year after they got engaged, the world shut down due to the Covid pandemic, forcing millions across the globe to shelve their weddings.
The pair also went on to have two kids in quick succession – Roman was born in March 2020, and Lilah arrived in the world in May 2022 – so it was understandable that planning their big day took a backseat.
In 2021, Lucy admitted to OK! Magazine that her wedding plans were “on the backburner”, while she also told fans via her instagram stories that she was “still in the engagement bubble but I can’t wait to start planning.”
However, with Roman now six and Lilah turning four next month, any talk of becoming man and wife appears to have gone silent.
In fact, sources tell us the couple are perfectly happy being ‘perma-engaged’ and raising their little family rather than being legally bound to each other.
And the reason the nuptials are now unlikely to happen? Well, one insider alleges the delay is down to Lucy’s desire to remain financially independent after Ryan’s previous struggles with money.
In 2013, before the pair met, Ryan was declared bankrupt – despite earning £100,000 a year on Coronation Street at the time.
He spiralled into debt over an unpaid £40,000 tax bill, and while his bankruptcy is now over, it still casts a shadow in his life.
Just last year, The Sun revealed his company R James Thomas Ltd, which takes in cash from his TV and endorsement work, had just £1 in its accounts.
Annual accounts filed to Companies House show just a solitary quid in the company account for the 12 months to the end of January 2025.
At the time, the books also revealed he owed more than £30,000 of a Covid Bounce Back Loan.
Our source explains: “Lucy comes from money – her dad Paul is very wealthy and has an extensive property portfolio, so she and her two sisters will inherit a lot from him one day. Lucy listens to everything her father says, and she has always been very financially literate.
“She was raised to understand money and be very careful with it, and as soon as she started making money from Towie, her dad taught her to make careful investments.
“Ryan, on the other hand, has admitted to making a lot of mistakes with money and not being financially savvy in the past. As much as Lucy loves him, it wouldn’t be entirely sensible for her to legally bind her finances in with Ryan’s, which would be the case if they were man and wife.
“Of course they share some money, and they have property together, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucy has been advised to protect her interests – especially her wellness business RWL, which she has worked her backside off to make the UK’s leading at home health and fitness app.
“Ryan has worked to claw himself back from his previous money woes, and she is really proud of him, but if he ever got into difficulties again, it could affect her credit rating and have big implications for her own finances if they were married.”
In the UK, while bankruptcy is generally wiped from your credit reports after six years, certain bankruptcy restrictions can last up to 15 years.
Furthermore, if an application asks for your full financial history, the bankruptcy must be disclosed, regardless of how long ago it happened.
Despite Ryan’s previous woes, however, another source close to the situation insists the reason Lucy hasn’t wed Ryan has nothing to do with safeguarding her own assets.
Counters a pal: “It’s not true that Lucy doesn’t want to legally merge her finances with Ryan. The reasons they haven’t got married are because they are both parents of two young kids, have busy careers and also weddings are extortionate. It just hasn’t been a priority for them, they are happy as they are.”
Indeed, a Mecklenburgh- Thomas wedding certainly wouldn’t come cheap. The pair have large families, an array of celebrity friends and aren’t the types to do a no-frills affair in a register office followed by drinks down the local boozer.
“To do something on the scale they want would take a lot of cash, and Lucy and Ryan want to pay for a lot of it themselves. Yes, Lucy’s dad’s very wealthy but Ryan is also a proud man and doesn’t want handouts. He’s worked hard to turn his financial situation around, but he wants to give Lucy the wedding of her dreams and that takes years of hard graft to save for.
“Ultmately, there is no rush either. Neither of them feel the pressure to get hitched. They’re fully committed to each other and really happy – a big fancy wedding is nice but it’s not the priority right now. It will happen one day, and when it does it will be incredible and a day they will never forget.”
And even though Ryan is no longer in the red, other high profile members of his family have also experienced financial difficulties
Both of Ryan’s brothers, Adam and Scott, have felt the sting of their businesses going belly up.
Scott’s health and fitness company Food 4 Thoughts collapsed in 2024, which saw Scott lose £75k of his own money while brother Adam lost his £125k investment.
Aside from this, Adam’s own Manchester restaurant The Spinn went into liquidation that same year, owing £300,000.
Adam also has two other failed businesses: vegan food firm Plant Pizzas Ltd, which was struck off in 2022, and a mobile catering venture which closed.
Our insider explains: “The Thomas boys have all made mistakes in business which have cost them a lot of money. They have big dreams and have invested in each other’s brands, but this has come with financial ramifications.
Our insider continues: “Ultimately, Ryan and Lucy are strong and don’t need money issues coming between them, it’s a stress their relationship doesn’t need.
“Ryan is totally happy too. He is a proud man, so wouldn’t push the issue, but he knows Lucy is fully committed to him and they are happy as they are. As time has gone on, they have realised that being committed to each other is about sharing a home and a family, not a big wedding.
“Like a lot of men, Ryan isn’t overly fussed about a big day anyway. To him, what’s important is having a strong relationship, and that’s what he and Lucy have. He doesn’t care about blowing a load of money on a big wedding either, that seems like a waste of cash to him.”