'It was up to us to show our true selves

Reality TV stars Erica Roberts and Meryl Williams won't be holding back in their new podcast

- EVE MACDONALD & NIKKI ONAFUYE

Erica Roberts and Meryl Williams each found fame in a huge UK reality show – and now they’ve teamed up to create their own podcast, You & Me, in which they will talk about all things Edinburgh and how they navigate life.

Erica, 26, who was born in the Scottish capital, appeared on the 2023 series of Married At First Sight UK. She tied the knot with Jordan Gayle, but while their relationship appeared to run smoothly on the show, they split months after it aired.

Meryl, 28, who won series one of The Traitors, was born in South Africa but now also lives in Edinburgh. She met Erica at a showbiz event and the pair hit it off within a matter of hours.

Since parting ways with Jordan, Erica is back in the dating game and looking for someone who’s “actually genuine”, although she admits she finds all men “boring”. Meryl, meanwhile, says, “Even trying to make friends in your twenties can be so hard.”

Here the pair speak to us exclusively about what it’s really like being on reality TV, finding love and their new-found friendship…

Hi, both! Erica, what are your thoughts on the latest series of MAFS UK?

Erica: Maybe it’s a bit more controversial now , but if it wasn’t for the new intruder Hannah [Norburn] coming in I probably would have turned it off because I was getting bored. They were dragging out storylines for weeks and I think they were doing that because there just wasn’t enough drama going on. But now, after the last few episodes, I’m like, “OK, we’re getting somewhere now,” because realistically, I know they’re there to find love, but it is a TV show and we want to see the drama! I think we need to start a petition to make MAFS five days a week, not four, because we need more.