I dated the world’s richest gypsy Alfie Best Junior, it made me famous but I’d never date a traveller again
HE’S THE son of the world’s wealthiest traveller and worth an estimated £341 million but it wasn’t Alfie Best Jr’s wealth that attracted Mia Sully to him.
The makeup artist dated the ‘gypsy playboy’ from 2018 to 2020 and says that despite his riches he was surprisingly shy when they first met while on holiday in Marbella.
“I was on a girl’s holiday in 2018 and Alfie was there with pals,” she says in an exclusive interview with Fabulous.
“We sort of knew each other through friends and ended up chatting for ages on a night out in Marbella and that’s where our holiday romance began.
“I think lots of people would assume that Alfie is quite arrogant and cocky but he was really shy, normal and sweet when we met.
“I am naturally very bubbly, and we just clicked immediately. We were like ying and yang.”
At the time Mia had an impressive social media following of 25,000 and had launched her career as a makeup artist after learning her skills watching thousands of YouTube makeup tutorials.
“Most people don’t believe I am self-taught as a makeup artist and designer,” she says.
Alfie was a super-featherweight boxer and the heir to Europe’s largest residential park and was filmed splashing his cash for another C4 show, Rich Kids Go Shopping.
In that show, the proud Romany Gypsy boasts about buying his own £550,000 caravan park aged 17 and owning a £70,000 BMW motor.
He had also found telly fame on Channel 4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune with his dad Alfie Senior.
Alfie Senior describes himself as an “old-school, blood and blisters businessman”.
He did not start his life in immense wealth and was born into a Romany gypsy family.
Alfie Senior was born in a caravan beside a road near Leicester on April 12, 1970.
By the age of 10 he had started working and was selling Tarmac door-to-door with his dad.
Now one of the country’s most famous travellers is chairman of Wyldecrest Parks – the largest holiday and residential park company in Europe.
Alfie Senior is now worth about £1.2billion and lives in a £6million mansion in leafy Surrey, counting an Arab sheikh and Queen rock star Brian May as neighbours.
The businessman also has an eight-bedroom holiday villa in Barbados worth £5.4million – just three doors from Sir Cliff Richard’s Caribbean bolthole.
However, Mia says that the Best family wealth was not a factor in her attraction to Alfie, arguing that his personality was far more valuable.
“I didn’t care how much money Alfie had,” she says.
“He lived in an amazing house and there were rooms I never went into because it was so large.
But he was just Alfie to me and super considerate, I fell for him because he was a good man
Mia Sully
“But he was just Alfie to me and super considerate, I fell for him because he was a good man.”
Shortly after their relationship began, the couple were spotted by talent scouts at Ascot races where they were asked to appear on ITV reality show Absolutely Ascot.
“I was wearing a blue, bodycon dress and hat and was holding glass of champagne talking to Alfie about a race when the producer walked up us and asked me if I would be interested in being on a new TV show.
Billed as the same fly-on-the-wall style documentary as Made In Chelsea, the show followed the lives of some of Ascot’s elite social groups.
By June 2018 Mia was having her life chronicled with Alfie in front of the cameras.
“It was amazing to be on a show which showed travellers and non-travellers living the high life in and around Ascot,” Mia says.
But while Mia was thrilled to be mixing with the traveller community, not everyone was as thrilled.
“I wasn’t a traveller, but I was dating a traveller,” she says.
“Traveller girls didn’t like that I was dating a traveller boy, some girls didn’t like the way I dressed and the fact I was a non-traveller.
“If those girls get their backs up it’s hard to have them accept you.
“Other traveller girls treated me like their friend sharing makeup and dress tips.
Mia says that it was the pressure of the TV fame that ultimately drove her and Alfie apart.
“Yes, being on TV as a couple was one of the reasons we ended up splitting,” Mia explains.
“Being a TV couple was hard, I have no regrets though.
“The single stars did get more attention. It was easier for them to get into mischief than a couple.
“That meant there was a lot of pressure on us to fight and makeup and that’s stressful.
Uber-glam Mia admits being an off- and on-screen couple was hard.
“If we’d had a private fight and had to make lovey dovey on set it was hard. If we had an on screen fight it could ruin a private evening at home.
“Alfie was lovely, but I am too much of a handful. I want a career and I have plans for more businesses and more TV shows.
“We realised we were not really suited.
As for dating a traveller fella again I can say that won’t happen
Mia Sully
“I was super outgoing and got lots of sponsorship deals. Alfie was getting the same attention and we were being pulled in different directions.
“The one thing I know is Alfie would offer business advice if I ever asked. That’s how exes should be. We aimed to not have an angry break up.
“As for dating a traveller fella again I can say that won’t happen.”
Alfie Best Jr recently hit the headlines when he converted to Islam to become the UK’s first Muslim traveller, and Mia says she couldn’t be happier for him.
“When I read that Alfie had converted to Islam I was so happy for him,” says Mia.
“If it’s what he wants and finds contentment then I support him one hundred percent. I know he supports me with whatever I do.
“I know many people will think it controversial and that is wrong.
“They do not know Alfie like me. He is quiet but always challenges people in ways they don’t expect.”
After Absolutely Ascot Mia filmed for six weeks as a co-star in series 30 of The Only Way is Essex alongside Yazmin Oukhellou and Amber Turner.
Mia’s episodes aired last year starting in September.
Mia is now focused on overseeing and promoting the Mia Fashion Collection for H &. L Fashions which includes her own gym wear brand launched last year.
Mia designed thirty outfits including sports bras tops and leggings.
The twenty-five-year-old has also modelled for PrettyLittleThing, Missy Empire and Club London.
“I am also a makeup artist and am working on my own makeup range. I am proud to have recently launched my third fashion range in last two months.”
The TV star’s put her money where her mouth is with a new enterprise, Mia Latina.
It is a self-funded boho holiday capsule fashion range including kimonos, Ibiza inspired beachwear and dresses available online using environmentally aware fabrics.
Mia also hasn’t ruled out a return to the small screen.
“I was approached when I was 18 years old to appear on Love Island, but I was too young.
“I am ready now and given my experience dating traveller lads I can definitely bring the glam and drama.”