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Traveller girls clean like psychopaths – they thought I was dirty for not scrubbing the TARMAC
AS we're sure any married couple will agree, moving into your first home together is a big adjustment - but for former ring girl Nikia and her traveller husband Mike, it was one that almost broke them.
In November 2019, the couple fell head over heels in love after meeting at a boxing match..
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WATCH THE FIFTH EPISODE OF I MARRIED A TRAVELLER EXCLUSIVELY ON
Despite their wildly different backgrounds, the couple tied the knot in a whirlwind ceremony in Las Vegas three months later.
However, glamour-model-turned-housewife Nikia came crashing back down to earth when she moved into Mike's cramped caravan at a park in Oak Lane, Essex - otherwise known as his "bachelor pad".
They're fronting I Married A Traveller, an exclusive, six-part , revealing what it's really like to bring their two worlds together.
Nikia said: "The traveller tradition of living in a caravan was just not for me. I really hated it.
"I'd never go back in a million years.
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"I didn't feel accepted on the camp site and so I didn't accept anyone either. No one got along or even spoke to me."
At first, Nikia tried her best to adapt to life as a traveller wife while Mike - who owns a roofing company - was at work.
However, one of her biggest challenges was fitting her immense wardrobe into the lacking cupboard space.
Determined to make it work, Nikia turned to one of her new neighbours for storage tips - but was simply scoffed at.
She recalled: "When I was living on the camp, I asked one of the women where she put everything - like all her shoes.
"She just laughed at me! At this point, I was keeping all my clothes in the car.
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"They covered both the front and back seats."
Trying to make life easier for Nikia, Mike decided to move his possessions into a storage unit to free up some space.
He said: "I kept two cupboards and gave her the rest. She has a LOT of stuff.
"Now we're not in the caravan anymore, she has enough to fill two walk-in wardrobes."
Having grown up in caravans, Mike didn't think it would be such an issue for his new wife.
He said: "It's not that different to gorgers. They'll save up for a deposit on a house, we'll use that money to buy a caravan.
"That's normally the first move and the caravan can cost between £20-£30,000.
"I was born and bred in a trailer and I really liked that way of life. But it's a bit dated to be fair.
"It's especially bad in the winter time because it’s cold and you have to go out and change the gasbox in the middle of the night.
"I swear every traveller has done this. I’d rather be in a house with central heating now."
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Traveller slang explained
Gorger: A non-Romani or non-traveller.
Grabbing: When a boy grabs an unmarried girl he wants to kiss, without permission.
Mush: Man.
Grunter: A mark, a rich man who's an easy target.
Bure: Woman.
Cushty: Good.
Gammy: Bad
And while Nikia had always prided herself being on a tidy person beforehand, she says traveller wives took cleaning to all new levels.
She explained: "It’s a very traditional value in the travelling community to have a clean home.
"When I was living on the camp, they were all cleaning like psychopaths.
"The girls would clean OUTSIDE too. I saw one scrubbing the tarmac.
"You can call me dirty because I didn’t scrub a tarmac floor. What’s the point when cars are going to be driving in and out on it?!"
Mike added: "There’s a lot of hours in a day and travelling girls don’t have a lot more else to do."
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long until the stresses of the camp started taking its toll on Nikia and Mike's relationship.
And to make matters worse, their neighbours - whose trailers were just two metres away - could hear EVERYTHING.
Describing how this make-or-break moment in their marriage, Nikia recalled: "We were going through a really hard time and arguing non-stop.
"It was an impossible situation. When you live in a camp like that, everyone's eyes are on you. It was so weirdly intimate."
The traveller tradition of living in a caravan was just not for me. I really hated it. I'd never go back in a million years.
A couple of months later, the couple moved into a rented penthouse apartment in Slough - where Nikia runs her business Red Hot Cosmetics from.
Although she kept Mike's caravan spick and span, Nikia's been able to furnish the flat to her taste - filling it with grey velvet furniture, sweet selfies of them and flowers.
She said: "I would definitely pick this a million times over.
"I own my own business now and I need somewhere to put all the stock.
"I spend evenings doing all the packaging which would have been impossible in the trailer."
But while Nikia's mum was relieved to see her moving out of the caravan, Mike's traveller family weren't so convinced.
He added: "When I told my family I was going to be moving into an apartment, they sort of looked down their nose at me. But we know best.
";I would live on a mountaintop as long as it’s with you. I don’t care where I live as long as she’s there."
But while Mike's chuffed to have central heating in his new home, he's not so thrilled about the bills which pile up every month - including parking tickets, congestion charge, gas and council tax.
He joked: "Let me tell you something, when you've suddenly got to keep on top of bills, you really feel like going and getting yourself a nice trailer, then up the road as quick as you can.
"That’s the bad thing about being married to a normal, settled girl. But the good thing is she really keeps it in perspective for me. I don't feel like I have to walk around being the Big Man."
You can follow Nikia and . She also has her own beauty and fashion range, Red Hot Cosmetics, which . You can also follow Michael .
Check back next Tuesday for the next instalment of .
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Previously Nikia said she "pities" traditional traveller wives and says their lives are "boring".
And the couple revealed travellers survive on beans and toasts to pay for their lavish £150k weddings.
I Married A Traveller: 'Why I don't follow traveller wife traditions'
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