INTERVIEW – The 29-year-old entrepreneur, candidate for season 6 of the M6 romance program, tells us regarding her convictions, her lifestyle and her marriage to Axel.
“Caroline’s case proved to be a particularly difficult challenge. In six years of experience, we experts have never been faced with such a profile.” Pascal de Sutter, doctor in psychology from “Married at First Sight”introduced the 29-year-old single mom as a very special candidate “to the extraordinary way of life which isolates it from the rest of the world” and at the “whole and inflexible personality”. At the head of her own concierge company, Caroline lives in a hamlet in the Hautes-Alpes nestled in the middle of nowhere at 1600 meters above sea level. This vegan nature and animal lover – she has 18 dogs – has been raising her 3.5-year-old son alone since birth.
” READ ALSO – All regarding “Married at First Sight”
LE FIGARO. – How did you come up with the idea of registering for “Married at First Sight”?
Caroline. – I followed the show from the beginning and the concept made me dream, the idea of meeting someone compatible, but without imagining participating in it one day. I became a mom (in August 2018, editor’s note), I separated from dad during my pregnancy and, for two years, I had other things in mind than starting a new relationship. Then the desire to seduce, to meet a man and to share my daily life came back. But I realized that with my personality, my convictions and my way of life in a hamlet of 20 inhabitants, it was going to be very complicated. So I signed up for the casting of “Married at First Sight” to help me find the right person for me.
What does your sentimental past marked by the birth of your son Loup-Gabriel look like?
I had pretty traditional love stories that usually ended well. I had relationships with men who respected me well. There was indeed my son’s dad with whom it was very complicated because he lacked self-confidence and, to reassure himself, he found nothing better than to lead a double life during my pregnancy so that he was really very much in love with me. To reassure himself, if I were to leave him, he had created a backup solution. We separated during my pregnancy because of this even though I didn’t know the whole truth until two years later. I felt that strange things were happening… It was absolute war following the birth of my son because he was having a hard time with our breakup, we fought over custody of our child and since the court returned the judgment, everything has calmed down, we get along very well. He can see Loup-Gabriel whenever he wants and we have become friends.
Your registration for “Married at first sight” would have had a benefit on your agreement…
As long as we hated each other, there was no ambiguity. But when we stopped hating each other, he had hopes of rekindling a relationship with me. He hated me once more for three and a half days when he learned of my registration for the show, but his anger passed and he understood that he had to turn the page with me for good. That’s what he managed to do and we get along very well.
“I spend around 1,500 euros a month to feed all my dogs”
How would you describe your way of life, described as “out of the ordinary” by Pascal de Sutter?
There is an image that I like, it is a photo of two identical apples with the caption: “This is an apple and this is an organic apple”. It’s still crazy that the organic apple is not called the apple and the other the chemical apple! My way of life is the same, for me it’s the normal way of life! (Laughs.) Single or not, I’m very happy this way. The complexity of my daily life is that I raise a child alone, I manage my own business and I also have all my dogs to take care of. Besides, being vegan means that you have to cook a lot more. My life is organized according to all this with the help of people who come to my home, au pairs or WWOOFers (help once morest room and board, editor’s note).
How much does it cost to take care of 18 dogs?
Financially, it’s complicated because everything is really at my expense, from food to veterinary care. In addition, my dogs also eat vegan croquettes and they are more expensive than the others. Food alone represents an expenditure item of around 1,500 euros per month. It’s a real personal choice, at least 50% of my work goes to support my animals. I collect old dogs from shelters, most of them come from Romania, all their vaccines are up to date.
How should we live to be in line with your beliefs?
For me, the right way, the most logical, the most instinctive and therefore the most animal too, is simply to respect our place of life. This is just what shocks me in my observations. An animal will not defecate in its burrow and then end up sleeping on it. I’m not asking everyone to live with 18 dogs but just to eat and consume properly, these are fundamentals that go hand in hand with our good health.
As Axel was able to point out regarding him, you do not live as a hermit in the middle of the mountain.…
On the contrary, I have a very dynamic life and my values do not prevent me from enjoying. Everywhere I go, I eat vegan and I drink vegan. I buy all my clothes and accessories second-hand. Afterwards, I am far from perfect but my choices are constantly considered: if I can take the train rather than the plane, I do. When I use my small car – which does not consume a lot of gas – for long trips, I try to take several people with me. I have a lifestyle that doesn’t make me feel guilty. I also want to break this image of the vegan who lives alone in a cave and who does not want to disturb. I want to impose myself, to show that you can be vegan, respect nature and have fun.
“I really believed in marriage that I was being pranked, that it was a hidden camera”
On your social networks, you openly display your position once morest the anti-Covid vaccine and once morest the health pass. Were there any special health instructions for getting married in Gibraltar?
No, there were several of us at my wedding who weren’t vaccinated. Only a PCR or antigen test was requested before leaving France. I did not have to go once morest my beliefs and if I had been asked to get vaccinated, I would not have accepted it. On the other hand, I have lost count of the number of PCR tests I had to do there, no one wore the mask in Gibraltar anymore.
And that’s why you didn’t want to kiss the groom…
(Laughs.) I mightn’t because of the Covid, it was too dangerous!
More seriously, what were your first impressions when you discovered Axel?
Quite honestly, seeing it, I don’t understand. I tell myself that he is small when it was the only physical criterion that was prohibitive for me. I didn’t fall in love when I exchanged my first glances with him, I didn’t feel anything. I think all the participants imagine the same thing when they arrive at the wedding, that there will be a crush to die for at first sight. I really didn’t feel well and he was able to put me at ease, there was a good atmosphere with families and loved ones. When I see his two stuffed animals on the ground, I tell myself that we are not in the same delirium vis-à-vis animals. During the shooting of my portrait, I was asked the color of the suit that I would not like to see on the groom, I answered the blue of the flag of France… It’s not once morest Axel but I really thought the wedding was being pranked on me, it was a hidden camera! (Laughs.)
Nevertheless, you are giving your story with Axel a chance by accepting this marriage…
I said to myself that if I had just seen the 20% incompatibility in a few seconds, that meant that I was going to be overwhelmed by the 80% compatibility on meeting him and that the intellectual harmony was going to be evident. But there once more, on our convictions and our values, there are no obvious commonalities. I had a very bad experience of the banquet because I realize that nothing is going well. Axel, like his friends and family, was very enthusiastic and I felt very bad for not sharing their feelings. Several times, I told Axel that I felt nothing but he wanted me to give him a chance to take the time to show me who he really is.
In what state of mind are you at the end of the banquet?
I’m very bad because I don’t really believe in it anymore. I am disappointed because I arrived in Gibraltar full of hope. We finished filming very late, I was very tired and I mightn’t wait to be alone. Because at no time during that day was I able to take advantage of moments alone to think regarding what I was going through.
SEE ALSO – Interviews with Laure and Matthieu (“Married at first sight”, season 5)