- Sam Vanderpump marries Alice Yaxley in a small ceremony following his end-stage liver disease diagnosis
- The couple, expecting their first child, plan a larger celebration in 2027 after the baby’s birth on Valentine’s Day
- Sam addresses trolls and advocates for organ donation, raising awareness about the need for organ donors in the UK
Made In Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has tied the knot with his fiancé Alice Yaxley after his end-stage liver disease diagnosis.
The 28-year-old was hospitalised with kidney and liver failure in December last year due to a genetic liver disease, which led to life-threatening sepsis.
Sam, who is the nephew of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump, revealed at the end of October that he has been given a handful of years to live unless he receives a transplant.
He also explained how he is ‘terrified’ he’ll never get the chance to meet his baby.
But, in an intimate ceremony at Chelsea Registry Office on Sunday afternoon, the 28-year-old and model, 24, said ‘I do’ in front of their close friends and family before they celebrated with a luxury dinner.
The newleyweds, who are expecting their first child together, are planning to throw a larger celebration in May 2027 after welcoming their son in February.
Sources told the Daily Mail that the intimate ceremony was ‘beautiful’ after a very difficult few months for the couple,
An insider said: ‘Sam and Alice’s ceremony was very small and intimate, but still gorgeous. They’re calling it “the start of our marriage”.
‘Sam told Alice from the moment they met that life would never be boring with him, and so far he’s delivered on that promise.
‘Their baby is due on Valentine’s Day, so they’re set for a very exciting start to the New Year and to married life together.’
In November, Sam shared that after he learned of his ‘fifty-fifty’ chance of survival after the age of 53, he spoke about future planning with his wife-to-be.
The West London couple, who plan to call their son Marmaduke (Duke for short), have installed a sofa-bed in their new home so people can stay over to support Alice if Sam is unwell.
Despite the wave of support Sam received, he still had to fire back at insensitive trolls on social media, who claimed he was ‘making a meal’ of his diagnosis.
Speaking to the camera on social media, he said: ‘I probably shouldn’t engage with this. But there was one point I wanted to engage with.
‘I didn’t say I had four to five years to live. What the doctors said to me was, “Your liver won’t make it four to five more years, that’s why we need to do an organ transplant.”
‘Believe it or not, I don’t think the NHS go around giving liver transplants for the fun of it. It’s not an ideal operation.
‘I’ve had moments like right now where I’ve gone, should I have just not spoken about it? But the reason I’m speaking about it so loudly is that there are currently 8,000 people in the UK waiting for organs.
‘That number can drastically come down if everyone confirms their decision on the NHS organ donor register. The reason for this is that when that time comes, and someone’s organs are viable for donation, if someone hasn’t recorded their decision their family opt out 50% of the time.’
He continued: ‘We can increase that to 90% if we confirm our decision today.’
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