Maisie Smith has gushed over her boyfriend Max George, as she defended their 13-year age gap.
The Wanted star, 34, and the EastEnders actress, 21, met on the set of Strictly Come Dancing back in 2020.
The pair struck up a romance in 2022 after growing close during the Strictly tour, and they have been inseparable ever since.
In a new interview with The Sun’s Fabulous magazine, Maisie admitted she thinks Max is ‘The One’ as she opened about their “perfect” relationship.
She said: “We have so many plans and I see so much of my future with him – stuff I didn’t even know I was capable of seeing.”
“It still feels like the honeymoon stage. I don’t know at what point that ends, but we’re still there.”
“It doesn’t matter where we are – as long as we’re together, everything is perfect.”
Speaking about those who are critical of the couple’s 13-year age gap, Maisie said: “If it wasn’t that, it would be something else.”
“People don’t understand what goes on behind closed doors in a relationship, and I think they also forget that I’m a consenting 21-year-old woman who’s actually been working longer than Max!”
“I don’t notice the age difference and neither do my friends or family. My mum Julia is the one who reads through all the comments. I got a message from her yesterday, saying: ‘Just ignore them, you two were made for each other.’”
“I think that just puts it into perspective. I really don’t care what a random person thinks of my relationship when everyone I do care about is incredibly supportive. I’ve been in the business long enough to know you have to have a thick skin.”
Maisie also admitted she had a huge crush on Max when she was younger, and had posters of The Wanted on her bedroom walls.
She said: “Sometimes we’ll be in a shop and The Wanted will come on and that’s a reminder. Or I’ll see a picture of the band and think of how that used to be a poster on my bedroom wall!”
“When I was little, I was only allowed two songs on my phone and one of them was All Time Low by The Wanted – I paid 99p for that! It’s such a funny thing and we talk about it all the time.”
