The pair loved to show off their lives with the model recording every moment on social media, but hopes of a fairytale ending came to an abrupt end when Michael Clarke called it off
LOVE Island’s Kendall Rae-Knight is no stranger to fame — she and her ex-fiancé spent years being hailed as the Posh and Becks of Blackpool.
The model loved being recognised in the town where she grew up and never left home without a full face of make-up.
Her boyfriend of five years Michael Clarke would get attention in a smart BMW while Kendall, 26, would record every moment on social media.
The pair loved to show off their lives with Kendall posting social media pics of herself working out, in a bikini and on holidays in Abu Dhabi and the Dominican Republic.
She loves to get dressed up and take selfies of herself in eye-catching outfits just like Victoria Beckham, while Michael liked to lavish her with designer Louis Vuitton gifts — just like Posh’s husband David.
Kendall even boasted of flying first class and showed off Marc Jacobs shoes and Chanel shopping bags.
And even though she and Michael never tied the knot, she posed in a wedding dress in one shot and gave her followers regular updates on her nail extensions and jewellery.
Photos of shoe shop manager Kendall showing off her diamond engagement ring following a romantic Caribbean proposal are still on her Instagram.
But hopes of her fairytale ending came to an abrupt end when Michael called it off after just three months.
A source close to the couple said: “Kendall wanted to get married but Michael decided it wasn’t for him.
“He ended it quickly, he didn’t want to string her along. He knew the longer he stayed with her, the harder it would be to break it off.”
The “perfect” pair had just bought their first lovenest together in Blackpool and had spent a blissful first year there as they lovingly redecorated and tended the garden.
Kendall wanted to settle down and have children but neighbours say she and 28-year-old Michael started to argue and began living separate lives.
He ended the relationship in October, with Kendall claiming he no longer loved her and wanted “more time with the lads”.
He packed a bag just before Christmas.
Kendall, a former Miss England finalist, was left devastated and broken, with family and friends rallying to support her over the festive period.
One neighbour said: “It was their first house and they seemed a lovely pair, but we saw it fall apart before our eyes.
“The neighbours could hear them arguing through the walls.”
Teaching assistant Sarah, a mum of two, said it was obvious things had turned sour between the pair.
She said: “I really felt for her because it would have been their first Christmas as an engaged couple.
“She was living there alone over Christmas — it was a shame. Her friends and family came to help her move out in January.”
She added: “This show will be the making of Kendall — the ultimate revenge. It’s like saying, ‘Take that, you missed out’.”
Speaking of the break-up after arriving on TV’s Love Island, Kendall said: “It’s my time to start afresh.
“I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him — I was absolutely heartbroken.”
She added: “This time last year I was in a five-year relationship.
“I was engaged, had a house, and I was all settled down ready to have children.
“The first two or three weeks afterwards were so hard. I was so numb to it all.
“It wasn’t until Christmas and being around family that I felt OK again.
“So I applied for Love Island and, come January, I moved out of the house we had together and I started living with my sister.”
Now Kendall, who flew to a Majorca villa for the hit ITV2 show last month, insists she wouldn’t be embarrassed to have sex on telly.
She said: “If you really connect with someone and the time comes when you get a bit intimate, I don’t think that should be frowned upon.
However the model, who has not had a date since becoming single, admitted she had some nerves about the show — admitting her biggest fear is no one liking her in the mansion.
But Kendall says she is hopeful of finding lasting love as a result of the television experience.
She said: “I do genuinely want to find someone.”
