Scott Mills is appearing in Race Across The World alongside his husband Sam Vaughan, but who is Sam, and how did the pair meet?
Who is Sam Vaughan?
Sam describes his day job as an “audio producer and branded content freelancer”. He begun his career working as a marketing co-ordinator for Global Radio, before moving to Nation Radio in 2014, and starting his own business, Influx Live, alongside freelance radio production shifts in 2022.
The pair met in 2016 at a radio event in Wales and began dating a year later.
It was love at first sight for Scott, but he admitted that Sam wasn’t ‘ready’ to take the leap, especially with a long-distance relationship on his hands.
He told the Times: “The more time we spent together, the more I could see we were right for each other. I just needed him to see that too.
“So when we had the conversation about taking it forward and he said “I’m not ready”, I was devastated. Being friends with someone you’re in love with doesn’t work. We didn’t speak for six months.”
However, after both of their mums encouraged them to make it a go, they both moved in together in 2020 just months before the Covid lockdown. They credit spending so much time together with helping their relationship blossom. They also welcomed their adorable Cavapoo, Teddy, to the family – with Sam managing the Instagram account.
The couple announced their engagement in October 2021, with the wedding planning starting soon after. They eventually married in a Mediterranean Villa in Barcelona at the start of June.
Scott and Sam’s wedding
Scott, 51, and Sam, 35, said ‘I Do’ in front of celebrity guests including Zoe Ball, Rylan Clark, Jordan North, Calvin Harris and wife Vick Hope, with his former co-host Chris Stark providing Master of Ceremony duties.
Scott tweeted at the time of the engagement: “After 4 years together I’m delighted to say we got engaged at the weekend. As Sam knows, I always said I didn’t think I would ever get married. But then I met you Sam.
“You make me laugh every single day, you support me in so many ways and I adore everything about you. As soon as I met you I knew this could be something special and it is (after a slow start).
“We’ve had some amazing times, and I’m bursting with happiness to know we will have so many more. I love you with all my heart.”
Sam added on Instagram: “The beginning of forever. On Saturday the love of my life asked me to marry him and of course I said yes! I’ve had the most amazing four years and can’t wait to continue our journey!
“I never thought I’d find somebody who’s as obsessed with Sky News as me and I can’t wait to call him my husband!”
Coming out as gay
Scott came out as gay in an interview with the Guardian back in 2001 as he rose to prominence at Radio 1. He was keen to head off “tabloid hounds” by making the announcement before the newspapers did. He said he didn’t want his sexuality to define him.
He explained: “I just want to be me, to be Scott and be a DJ on Radio 1 that people either like to listen to or don’t like to listen to. I’m not going to start appearing on Gaytime TV in pink shirts – I’d just like to be accepted as a normal bloke who is gay and is on the radio and the television.”
He used to joke on air about his sexuality until his relationship with Sam led to Scott referring to his boyfriend or husband on the airwaves.
Why did they choose to go on Race Across the World?
Speaking on The One Show, Scott said the series was the “ultimate test” for their relationship ahead of their wedding.
He took five weeks off presenting on Radio 2 to take part in the show back in March 2024, leaving some regular listeners to guess his whereabouts.
Sam described appearing on Race Across the World as “a no-brainer” after the Radio 2 DJ was invited.
“It’s an opportunity where you can just switch off in the world and see places that you’ve never seen before,” he explained in a new interview with the BBC.
“You’ll probably go to places that you wouldn’t choose to go – if you look at a map, you probably wouldn’t go, ‘Let’s go here.’
“Scott loves his travel magazines, so Scott will plan our holidays, he likes to go to new places, but this is probably going somewhere that we will never go to again. And it’s just seeing parts of the world together.”
Scott also wanted to “throw” is phone away “for a bit”. “I wouldn’t be able to get to do this again,” he said.
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