I thought Molly-Mae Hague was self-absorbed – her documentary changed my mind

Her actions came across as self-absorbed, her insights surface level (Picture: Tristan Fewings/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)

I’ll be honest, when I first learned of Molly-Mae Hague during Love Island in 2019, I immediately wrote her off as a stereotypical influencer. 

She slipped off my radar in the years afterwards, only popping back up in my consciousness for one negative reason or another.

Whether it was her alignment with fast fashion through her former job as Creative Director at Pretty Little Thing, her ignorant viral comments about everyone having the same 24 hours, or her lack of body inclusivity with the sizes for her clothing brand, Maebe, everything felt like an affirmation of my initial scepticism. 

Her actions came across as self-absorbed, her insights surface level.

And yet, when I sat down to watch the second part of her Amazon Prime series, Molly-Mae Hague: Behind It All, my expectations were completely flipped on their head.

I had missed the initial batch of episodes in January this year, but when the second part dropped today, I decided to tune in. 

It eventually came to light that the split was due to Tommy’s issues with alcohol (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for PrettyLittleThing)

Unless you were living under a rock in August last year, you won’t have missed the shocking news that Molly-Mae had ended things with her Love Island match, fiance, and father-of-her-child Tommy Fury.

After months of wild speculation, it eventually came to light that the split was due to Tommy’s issues with alcohol. 

As news spread online and off, Molly-Mae blipped back into my life once more.

So while I was late to the documentary, I knew Molly-Mae had built a devoted fanbase for her relatable vlogging on YouTube, but I never really understood the appeal. 

While we’re both the same age, 25, my life has diverged down a radically different path compared to Molly and I couldn’t see any way in which I would ever relate to her. 

Although I’m definitely not excusing all of her past actions (inclusivity in fashion is absolutely essential), the documentary really surprised me with her thoughtfulness and reflections that resonated with me.

In episode one, she holds nothing back when discussing how much she compares herself to others in the industry and the insecurities around her body since giving birth to Bambi. 

And even offered a particularly refreshing reflection on her bitter regret at ever using fillers, declaring she looked ‘ten times worse’ with them. 

But the insights she offered into how seriously she takes being a role model for young girls was the first moment where I thought: ‘Huh, maybe there’s more to Molly than meets the eye.’

From there, she delved into her complex connection with her sister Zoe, and how the huge turbulence in her life had put such a strain on their relationship. 

The way she talked about her sister being her rock and how tough it was to have a rift over Zoe’s relationship with Tommy was surprisingly poignant. 

It’s rare for documentaries about reality personalities, usually sanitised and promotional, to offer these different layers and look beyond the headline-making romances and plugging of their business. Yet, here Molly-Mae was showing how complicated family can get, warts and all.

She doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to her hopes to reconcile with Tommy (Picture: Amazon Prime)

And it didn’t stop there. She took time to discuss her mixed feelings around putting her two-year-old daughter in the public spotlight, hoping that Bambi doesn’t ‘resent her too much’ for the life she’s been ‘thrust’ into.

She added: ‘She doesn’t really get a say or get a choice, especially now cause she is so young. She can’t tell us how she feels about that. Obviously, when she’s older she can and that’s something 100% we’ll listen to.’

It’s an especially timely topic with the conversation around putting children in the spotlight against their will amps up with documentaries like Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing.

Finally, she doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to her hopes to reconcile with Tommy. Several times in the documentary she makes it clear that she sees a future with him and their (hopefully growing) family but cautions that nothing is certain, especially when it comes to Tommy’s relationship with alcohol. 

I felt a kinship to Molly-Mae which I couldn’t have predicted in a million years (Picture: MollyMae/Youtube)

My heart really went out to her as I witnessed the internal conflict and struggle this had caused, when it seemed pretty clear she had never wanted everything to become so complicated.

‘I’m willing to ride the wave and that’s not something that everyone wants to do but it’s something I’m willing to do because I want my family,’ she explained at one point, offering a tenacious side which I really respected. 

Honestly, even though I don’t have a complicated, very public, relationship with an ex or a toddler I’m trying to raise, the intensity of being in your mid-20s and feeling the full brunt of all the decisions you’ve made hooked me in.

And, out of nowhere, suddenly I felt a kinship to Molly-Mae which I couldn’t have predicted in a million years. Life is messy, and Molly-Mae isn’t shying away from that. 

The three-episodes, each half-an-hour, flew by.

Of course, I still hope Molly-Mae can show her growth and maturity to continue reassessing how she approaches fashion (advocating to make it as inclusive as possible) and her acknowledging own privilege but her documentary has given me hope that she can work towards making a positive change. 

And, just maybe, I’ll be following along to see what happens.

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