Lucy Mecklenburgh and fiancé Ryan Thomas 'delay their wedding plans to remain financially independent after she became concerned over his money struggles'

Seven years after Ryan Thomas popped the questioned to Lucy Mecklenburgh in Positano, Italy, the pair have still not tied the knot.

The couple, who fell in love in 2017 while filming Channel 4 show Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, have previously claimed the reason they haven't said "I do" is due to life getting in the way. 

After getting engaged in June 2019, a year later Covid-19 hit forcing Ryan and Lucy as well as several other couples to put their nuptials on hold.  

During that time, the couple started their family welcoming two children, Roman, six, and Lilah, three, and plans for their big day were put on hold. 

Now the real reason behind Ryan and Lucy delaying being legally bound to each other has been revealed as sources claim Lucy wants to remain financially independent after Ryan's previous struggles with money.

A source told The Sun: '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. 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.'

Before the pair met, Ryan was declared bankrupt in 2013, 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, it was 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.

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.

However, another source insisted to the publication that the real reason Lucy and Ryan haven't tied the knot is due to the couple being 'happy as they are' being parents to young children and having busy careers.  

Daily Mail have contacted Lucy and Ryan's representatives for comment. 

It comes after Ryan and Lucy's romance was one which nearly never happened as he said in December he was secretly planning to break up with his now-fiancée.

Ryan confessed on an episode of his podcast with brothers Scott, 37, and Adam, 37, that he was actually planning to break things off with Lucy on their first date after getting back from filming the reality show.

He admitted he found it 'a bit unattractive' that Lucy actually liked him and was going to self-sabotage by calling it quits.

However once he got to the date, Lucy looked 'incredible' and was 'really cool' - and he decided he was in it for the long haul.

Ryan's brother Scott began: 'Ryan asked you to be his girlfriend...'

'On our first date yeah,' Lucy chimed in, at which point Ryan added: 'But wait wait we'd been on an island for a month.'

'No no wait but how did it... this is cringing me out,' Scott said, at which point Adam and his wife started to laugh.

Lucy continued: 'Well we've known each other for like two months, we'd been on the island for a month together.'

'Did you not say "Are we official?"', Scott asked as Ryan said: 'I would never say that I'm old school.'

Lucy said: 'It gets worse. He later on told me he was meeting me, because I was working in Manchester, meeting me to say "No, no I'm not interested."'

Ryan interrupted to add: 'I was just a bit like... ugh I dunno I just found it a bit unattractive that someone actually liked me and once I got them I was like "No it's not for me."'

'Then when I went to meet her...' he added, as Lucy said: 'It's mad isn't it.'

Clarifying, Scott said: 'So you were going to break it off and then you saw her.'

'...and she looked incredible,' Ryan continued. 'And she was like super cool and we had this kiss in the [his brother Adam's] car. I don't know why you had your shoes off... but your foot were on the dashboard. And I went "Yeah I'm in."'

Bursting out laughing Scott added: 'Ryan loves feet! That's actually probably true.'