Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – David Sullivan, Football, West Ham United, West Ham United Women, Sport, Women’s football
Title – Ex-West Ham director would not be involved in inquiry into David Sullivan | David Sullivan | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jacob-steinberg
Link – Ex-West Ham director would not be involved in inquiry into David Sullivan | David Sullivan | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-12T22:10:46.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/12/former-west-ham-director-removed-from-inquiry-into-david-sullivan

A nonexecutive director of the Independent Football Regulator will not be involved in the inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct against David Sullivan to avoid a conflict of interest over her links to West Ham.

Tara Warren was an executive director of West Ham United and the club’s women’s team before joining the football regulator.

Sullivan announced his resignation as a director and co-chair of West Ham last Saturday , before the publication of a joint investigation in which seven women accused him of abusing his power and preying on them for sex, in claims that date back to the 1980s and 1990s.

However, the 77-year-old remains the club’s largest shareholder, with a 38.8% stake, and the regulator is seeking clarity around the situation before launching a potential investigation. English football’s regulatory body has called the allegations “extremely serious” and has been given statutory powers to force a club owner to divest their shares should they be deemed unsuitable.

Sullivan has faced restrictions on his contact with West Ham’s women and youth teams since 2023 because of a safeguarding investigation by the Football Association. He has described the restriction as “meaningless and did not amount to a ban” and that he accepted it “for a quiet life”.

West Ham issued a statement on Thursday saying that the safeguarding measures followed the club’s safeguarding policy, as agreed with the FA and the local authority. The club added that “only a very limited number of West Ham United employees were informed of these measures”. The Guardian reported this week that the women’s team were now aware of the restrictions imposed on Sullivan.

Warren, who left the club last December, was appointed as a director of the women’s team in February 2023. She joined West Ham as a marketing director in 2009 and became an executive director in 2014. Warren was a close ally of Karren Brady, who stepped down as West Ham’s vice-chair in April.

Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, appointed Warren as one of five non-executive directors of the regulator in February. The Guardian asked the Independent Football Regulator and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about a potential conflict of interest and if Warren’s previous links with West Ham would see her recused from any investigation into Sullivan.

A spokesperson for the regulator said: “The IFR has robust policies and processes in place to ensure any interests that may conflict with the responsibilities of board members are known and managed accordingly. Where a board member does have a conflict or perceived conflict of interest, they will be recused from any decision making role relating to the matter.”

Warren denies being aware of the allegations made against Sullivan before their publication this week. Through his lawyers, Sullivan has denied the allegations against him.

Sullivan is believed to be open to selling his stake. Daniel Kretinsky, West Ham’s second largest shareholder, is interested in taking a majority stake. The Czech billionaire could do so by buying the Gold family’s 25% stake.

Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Environment, Chemical industry, UK news
Title – ‘Fast-track’ regulation could expose Britons to harmful chemicals, say campaigners | Environment | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/pippa-neill
Link – ‘Fast-track’ regulation could expose Britons to harmful chemicals, say campaigners | Environment | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T05:00:05.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/13/fast-track-regulation-could-expose-britons-to-harmful-chemicals-say-campaigners

An environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.

Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing substances.

Last year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which since Brexit has been responsible for the regulation of chemicals in Britain, launched a consultation on plans to change the system, which determines the substances that are identified as hazardous, the warnings that appear on labels, what restrictions apply and whether chemicals are banned or tightly controlled.

Its consultation proposed that the HSE should be allowed to fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries into British law. When the HSE published its response to the consultation findings, it said it would recognise the EU’s standards when adopting such hazard classifications. The EU has the highest standards on chemical safety globally.

But when the government laid the regulations before parliament earlier this year, the EU and its standards were not mentioned. Fighting Dirty is taking legal action against the government over concerns that this omission may expose the public to more hazardous chemicals.

Ricardo Gama, a partner at the law firm Leigh Day, which is representing Fighting Dirty in the proceedings, said the absence of this “safeguard” meant the government, or any future government, “could approve chemicals from places that have lower standards than the UK and EU”.

Fighting Dirty has said substances classified as human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, such as hexavalent chromium – the highly toxic chemical made infamous through the film Erin Brockovich and the water pollution scandal – are far more widely used in countries such as the US, China, India and Brazil than in the EU.

The campaign group argues the new regulations would give the HSE “unchecked power” to import weaker standards for chemicals such as this into British law.

“This is deregulation dressed up as efficiency, and the British public will pay for it with their health,” said Georgia Elliott-Smith, the founder of Fighting Dirty.

The HSE says the legislation will help to prevent non-EU jurisdictions with weaker regulatory practices from qualifying for fast-track evaluations, but campaigners argue the omission of the EU in the text means future governments could still approve chemicals from places that have lower standards than the EU.

Chloe Topping, a senior campaigner at the charity CHEM Trust, said the omission “risks the regulations being misused in the future”.

Elliott-Smith said: “We are not asking for anything radical. We are asking the court to hold the government to its own promises and ensure laws designed to protect people from cancer-causing chemicals actually do their job. If this law goes unchallenged, it could shape how chemicals are regulated in the UK for generations to come.

“We want our government to take the science far more seriously, and to be far more cautious and apply the precautionary principle here to protect the health of its citizens over the profit of corporates.”

Topping has also urged the government to “close this door by clarifying in the legal text that they only intend to use the changes to speed up adoption of decisions made by the EU, which sets the highest standards globally on chemical safety”.

A spokesperson for the HSE said: “Far from opening the door to lower standards, these regulations actually provide for a mechanism by which Great Britain can prevent non-EU jurisdictions with weaker regulatory practices from qualifying for fast-track evaluation – helping protect the public and the environment.”

A formal letter before the claim was sent to the HSE on 1 April. Fighting Dirty is now proceeding with an application for a judicial review.

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Tennis, Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sport
Title – Katie Boulter stuns Rybakina for biggest win after Raducanu starts Queen’s party | Tennis | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tumaini-carayol
Link – Katie Boulter stuns Rybakina for biggest win after Raducanu starts Queen’s party | Tennis | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-12T21:23:58.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/12/katie-boulter-stuns-rybakina-for-biggest-win-after-raducanu-starts-queens-party

Katie Boulter battled hard with Elena Rybakina and she emerged from the longest day of her career with her greatest victory, a special performance from the British No 3 yielding a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over the world No 2 and Australian Open champion.

Emma Raducanu was also a winner on Friday, defeating Sorana Cirstea, the seventh seed and one of the most in-form players in the world this year 6-4, 6-2 to return to the quarter-finals on the grass courts of the Queen’s Club. However, the winner of her quarter-final match against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova will be forced to play two matches on Saturday after the congested, rain-delayed schedule ran out of time on Friday afternoon and their match was postponed at the end of the day.

Boulter has enjoyed a few big wins in her career, her previous best win by ranking being a win over the WTA No 5 Jessica Pegula, but this is the biggest of her career. This is also the highest-ranked opponent any British player has defeated since Johanna Konta upset Simona Halep in 2017 . It was also Boulter’s second win of the day, having defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-1, 6-3 at the start of the day.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure what to say, but I really feel like this win definitely goes towards the crowd that got me through it tonight and stayed out here,” Boulter said. “The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. I just tried to tell myself to keep backing myself and go for it. If you don’t go for it, then you’re going to regret the things that you’ve worked so hard for.

“I’m standing here a winner, and it’s because I trusted my game, I trusted my coaching team, who were always with me and pushing me. So yeah, I’m so proud of today.”

After the first 10 games, Rybakina had conceded just four points on her serve in five games, facing no break points. Nearly every Boulter service game, meanwhile, played out as an epic struggle, with Rybakina failing to take any of the nine break points she generated.

The complexion of the match completely changed from nowhere. At 5-5, Rybakina fell apart in a stream of unforced errors, double-faulting on break point to hand over the break. Another service game followed, Boulter then stepped up and landed just enough first serves to see out. Early in set two, Boulter’s run of good fortune finally ran out on her serve as Rybakina rolled through the second set, but the Briton regrouped admirably at the beginning of set three, her improved serving allowing her to finally build rhythm in her service games.

In a match between two tall, big servers desperate to take the first strike on every point, Boulter was far bolder and cleaner down the stretch. She clinched the best win of her career with some of her very best tennis, emphatically serving out the match.

Earlier on Friday, Raducanu had put together her best performance of the season to defeat Cirstea. Rakhimova, meanwhile, defeated Britain’s Harriet Dart 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals. The winner on Saturday will face the 18-year-old sixth seed Iva Jovic, who secured her first top five win over Amanda Anisimova, the second seed and world No 5.

Rain throughout the day on Thursday meant all matches had been postponed, leading to a manic Friday with all second-round victors scheduled to play twice and five matches scheduled on Andy Murray Arena. By the time Rybakina and Boulter were walking on court at the very specific time of precisely 5.41pm, the chances of all matches being completed had completely dwindled.

Raducanu should have been scheduled to compete on Court 1, the second court, but broadcast contracts at Queen’s prohibit the second court from being shown on any live broadcast, meaning the tournament organisers held out hope that they would arrive on court in time.

Saturday will be challenging regardless, with either winner being at a competitive disadvantage against Jovic, one of the bright young stars in the game. Still, Raducanu cut a relaxed, happy figure as she watched the final set of Boulter’s match. This was still a good day as she registered an excellent win against one of the most in-form players on the tour. This is the first time in more than a year that Raducanu has defeated a top 20 opponent in Cirstea, the world No 18.

Keyword – Art and design
Trefwoorden – Photography, Art and design, Culture, World news, Middle East and north Africa, Europe, US news, UK news
Title – The week around the world in 20 pictures | Photography | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jim-powell
Link – The week around the world in 20 pictures | Photography | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-12T17:16:38.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/jun/12/the-week-around-the-world-in-20-pictures

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Quiz and trivia games, Life and style
Title – Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? The Saturday quiz | Quiz and trivia games | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/thomas-eaton
Link – Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? The Saturday quiz | Quiz and trivia games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T06:00:08.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/13/which-song-features-nine-times-in-the-film-groundhog-day-the-saturday-quiz

The questions

1 Which African capital city and its river are anagrams of each other? 2 In the UK, which bird of prey has gone from near extinction to about 4,500 breeding pairs? 3 Which 1956 play was written on a deckchair on Morecambe Pier? 4 Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? 5 Who was the only crowned heir apparent to the English throne? 6 Denville Hall and Brinsworth House are retirement homes for whom? 7 What is England’s largest forest? 8 What volcanic glass is named after a Roman traveller? What links: 9 CND chair; 9-57 v South Africa; Happy Valley star; RAF philanthropist? 10 Benfica, 2026 and 1978; Galatasaray, 1986; Perugia, 1979; Red Star, 2008? 11 Coal Miner’s Daughter; I Saw the Light; Sweet Dreams; Walk the Line? 12 Champagne; Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise; Goliath; Timperley Early; Valentine? 13 Isabella Bird; Nellie Bly; Ida Pfeiffer; Freya Stark? 14 Sunshine Desserts (Barron); LA beaches (Anderson); White House (Janney)? 15 Eddy; Falstaff; Junior; Lily; Lin; Lucy; Oscar?

The answers

1 Bangui and Ubangi (Central African Republic). 2 Red kite. 3 Look Back in Anger (John Osborne). 4 I Got You Babe. 5 Henry the Young King (1170). 6 Actors and other entertainment pros. 7 Kielder Forest. 8 Obsidian. 9 Counties in names: Bruce Kent; Devon Malcolm; Sarah Lancashire; Leonard Cheshire. 10 Unbeaten in the football league but didn’t win the title: Portugal; Turkey; Italy; Serbia. 11 Country music biopics: Loretta Lynn; Hank Williams; Patsy Cline; Johnny Cash and June Carter. 12 Rhubarb varieties. 13 Pioneering female travel writers/explorers. 14 Played a CJ on screen and location: The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; Baywatch; The West Wing. 15 Characters in Duolingo language courses.

Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – Los Angeles, California, US news, West Coast
Title – Spencer Pratt concedes LA mayor race, but declares ‘war’ against advancing candidates | Los Angeles | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/cecilia-nowell
Link – Spencer Pratt concedes LA mayor race, but declares ‘war’ against advancing candidates | Los Angeles | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T00:35:49.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/12/spencer-pratt-concedes-la-mayor-race

Spencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Friday in a new video where he says “the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close”, but declares “war” against the two candidates advancing to the city’s general election.

In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump’s repeated, but unfounded claims the race was “rigged”. Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California’s elections “crooked”.

Although Pratt previously said he would leave LA if he did not win the election, the former reality TV star said in Friday’s video he is just starting his campaign to “save” LA.

On Monday, Nithya Raman, the progressive city councilmember, edged out Pratt to advance in the mayoral race. Raman will face the incumbent Karen Bass in November’s general election.

In his video, Pratt claimed to have information that could be damaging to either Raman’s or Bass’s campaign. “We have some recordings of one of your exalted candidates doing and saying something that would make her resign in shame. I was saving it for the general election,” Pratt said.

In a May interview with Adam Carolla, a podcast host, Pratt said: “If Karen Bass gets re-elected or Nithya gets elected, I will be done with trying to live in LA.”

But in Friday’s video, Pratt said: “I’m moving on to the next, more interesting phase,” adding: “I don’t have campaign laws hamstringing me now. It’s war.”

“I didn’t get in this for political power, I got in this to expose this corrupt machine. Nothing’s changed. You enjoy your worthless meetings at city hall,” he said. “You think your election is going to stop me. If you want to stop me, you’re going to have to fucking kill me.”

Pratt launched his campaign in January on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fire, the largest wildfire in Los Angeles county history, which destroyed his Pacific Palisades home. He centered concerns about the wildfire and the future of Los Angeles in his campaign , framing the city as facing an apocalyptic moment.

As a registered Republican running in largely Democratic Los Angeles, which has not elected a Republican mayor in more than 20 years, Pratt faced an uphill battle, even when he secured Trump’s endorsement in May. Pratt, best known for his villainous turn on MTV’s mid-80s reality series The Hills, frequently faced questions about his lack of political experience.

Keyword – Fashion
Trefwoorden – Fashion, Women’s shoes, Life and style, Chanel
Title – ‘The absence becomes the point’: the steady march of barely there shoes | Fashion | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ellie-violet-bramley
Link – ‘The absence becomes the point’: the steady march of barely there shoes | Fashion | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-12T16:26:43.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/jun/12/the-absence-becomes-the-point-the-steady-march-of-shoes-that-are-barely-there

W hen is a shoe not a shoe? On sale this month is a pair that seems to pose the question – the no shoe-shoe is the work of the cult brand Dear Frances and the latest in a steady march of shoes that are barely there; a take on naked dressing but for the foot.

The Balla shoe, which the brand calls a “sock shoe”, covers almost the entire foot, but also leaves it – encased but on display – in a kind of flimsy foot-cage. According to Jane Frances, the creative director and founder of the brand, it “offers a unique, glove-like fit wearability” and “takes inspiration from the delicate strength of a woman”.

It’s a hyperbolic response to a footwear moment in which toes have taken centre stage , not least via Vibram’s FiveFingers shoes . Once too horrifying for anyone but barefoot advocates, they are now increasingly spotted in the wild, from local pavements to celebrity big-hitters such as Rihanna.

When it comes to mesh shoes in particular, a lot can be charted back to 2022 and the wildfire success of Alaia’s £650 fishnet ballet flats , which set off a chain reaction of high-fashion iterations and high-street dupes.

The Alaia flats worked, according to Tiffany Hill, the founder of Trend Suite , because they “gave consumers something familiar – the ballet flat – but made it feel more intimate, lighter and slightly exposed. It was not quite a sandal and not quite a traditional flat. It sat in that clever middle ground: covered, but not covered; practical, but a little provocative.”

But if the fishnet-grade of those (and others, such as a pair of woven leather ballet flats on sale at John Lewis this season) had holes small enough to drain udon noodles, the Dear Frances sock-shoe, its virally successful predecessor, the Balla mesh ballerina flat , and other pairs at Asos , have a weave that could keep vermicelli from going down the sink.

They form a neat frame for the foot. “What we are seeing now,” says Hill, is “the foot becoming part of the styling language, almost like jewellery or skin”. She adds: “Shoes are no longer simply finishing the outfit; they are creating a small moment of tension. Is it dressed? Is it undressed? Is it elegant or strange? That ambiguity is exactly why the naked shoe feels so current.”

At the most recent Chanel show in Biarritz, barely there footwear reached its absurd zenith with heels tied to models’ feet without anything by way of the rest of the shoe in sight. Hill sees them as an “extreme fashion expression”. One, she says, “is runway provocation; the other is commercial translation”. But, she says, “they are part of the same movement: footwear being reduced until the absence becomes the point”.

Many of these shoes can be viewed as a humblebrag given success in pulling them off is generally predicated on having had a recent pedicure and/or naturally nice feet.

They also chime with a moment for toes and “toe cleavage” – it doesn’t feel coincidental that these nearly naked shoes are surfacing at a time when feet, and foot fetishes, have gone mainstream and a nice pair of feet can earn their owner thousands of pounds online. Or as “touching grass” is being championed as a real-world antidote to the frazzle and intangibility of digital life.

But these naked shoes aren’t necessarily good news for feet. Sarah Crookes, the director of Hackney Podiatry , says: “The upper of a shoe does a lot to support the foot in its function; after a long period of wearing [naked shoes] the wearer may end up with foot strain.” The thin sole doesn’t fill her with confidence, either: the “sole of a shoe is designed to offer the foot shock absorption from the concrete pavements, so the foot will feel tired from having had no support”. Particularly for anyone suffering from problems with their plantar fascia and achilles tendon, she wouldn’t recommend the shoe.

“All in all,” she says, “a unique shoe which is likely to draw attention – but from a podiatrist’s perspective, I wouldn’t recommend it as a functional shoe.” So even if you’re after the perfect weave to show off your metatarsals this summer, you might want to think again before trying to get up to a serious step-count in them.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – South Korea, Human rights, LGBTQ+ rights, Sexuality, Asia Pacific, Society
Title – ‘Stop pretending we don’t exist’: Seoul fills its streets with Pride colour | South Korea | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/raphael-rashid
Link – ‘Stop pretending we don’t exist’: Seoul fills its streets with Pride colour | South Korea | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T06:54:51.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/13/seoul-pride-festival

Tens of thousands of people have poured into central Seoul to celebrate the city’s annual queer culture festival, filling the streets with rainbow flags and drumming troupes in one of Asia’s largest Pride gatherings.

“I only tell friends who I think can accept it,” said Lee Seo-hee, a university student from Seoul who identifies as bisexual. “It doesn’t feel like a completely safe society.”

But little could dampen the mood on Saturday, despite LGBTQ+ people in South Korea remaining without basic legal protections, and a comprehensive anti-discrimination law blocked in parliament for nearly two decades.

On a blazing sunny day, the mood was jubilant and unguarded.

A group of parents of LGBTQ+ children offered free hugs to attendees, some of whom were in tears. Many cannot come out to their own families in a society where homosexuality, while not illegal, remains widely stigmatised.

Under Seoul’s mayor, Oh Se-hoon – who has publicly said he “cannot support homosexuality” and that holding Pride at the city’s main square is “not desirable” – Seoul Plaza has been off limits to the festival for the past four years. The square had been the festival’s home for nearly a decade. The conservative mayor was re-elected earlier this month.

Booths lined the festival grounds in another location instead, representing civil society groups, university clubs and diplomatic missions including the British embassy.

“This is the one time of year people feel they can truly show who they are,” said Jay Park, a film-maker and frequent attender. “Until a few years ago, many came covering themselves up, afraid of being seen.”

Days earlier a Seoul court had offered a rare step forward, ruling that a same-sex couple who had shared their lives and finances constituted a protected legal union, even as same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in South Korea.

South Korea’s conservative Protestants represent only a fifth of the population in a country where most people follow no religion. Yet they have wielded huge influence , in large part responsible for blocking a comprehensive anti-discrimination law – a political third rail that would protect LGBTQ+ people, women, people with disabilities and racial minorities.

Last month the government quietly committed to laying the groundwork for such a law, listing it among national policy tasks of President Lee Jae Myung’s administration.

“Even Korean companies that sponsor Pride abroad keep their mouths shut about LGBTQ+ rights in Korea,” said Heezy Yang, a Seoul-based queer artist and activist.

South Korean pop culture exported queerness to the world through films, music videos and dramas, he said, while the country silenced it at home.

Nearby, a crowd of counter-protesters held a rival rally, with trucks blasting hymns and banners declaring homosexuality a sin.

“Korean politicians have always treated minority issues as an afterthought, people not worth their votes,” Park said. “Stop pretending we don’t exist. Pass the anti-discrimination law.”

Keyword – None
Trefwoorden – None
Title – Cold War Steve on … Gianni Infantino staying cool as World Cup heats up | World Cup | The Guardian
Author – Cold War Steve
Link – Cold War Steve on … Gianni Infantino staying cool as World Cup heats up | World Cup | The Guardian
Publish date – Sat 13 Jun 2026 06.00 CEST
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2026/jun/13/cold-war-steve-on-gianni-infantino-staying-cool-as-world-cup-heats-up

Keyword – Culture
Trefwoorden – Culture, Lena Dunham, Television, Television & radio
Title – Lena Dunham’s romcom Too Much convinced me to propose on the spot | Culture | The Guardian
Author – Lydia Drake
Link – Lena Dunham’s romcom Too Much convinced me to propose on the spot | Culture | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T06:01:06.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/jun/13/cultural-awakening-lena-dunham-netflix-romcom-too-much

I have been with my partner Martin for 10 years, and he has always told me that he doesn’t want to get married. He thinks that the institution of marriage is a way for the state to control us. He also thinks that marriage is inherently patriarchal – and, honestly, I can’t argue with him about any of this.

But the truth is that I’ve had my whole wedding day mapped out in my head since I was seven. As a child I loved daydreaming about adulthood, and a huge wedding was the most adult thing I could possibly imagine. When other children were playing Pokémon, I was thinking about precisely how many tiki torches I wanted to light the way to the blessing ceremony. I didn’t really visualise the groom; he was a kind of blurry Ken-doll figure. My visions mainly centred around myself.

Despite all my childhood wedding planning, I’d given up on the idea of getting married – until I watched Too Much, Lena Dunham’s 2025 Netflix show about a loud, chaotic American woman, Jessica (Meg Stalter), who is overly intense and frequently displays poor judgment, such as getting wasted at a work party and stealing a soap dish.

Her love interest, Felix, played by Will Sharpe, is flawed and difficult himself – but he just adores Jessica in this dogged, unquestioning way. And that is my other big weakness. Time and time again – on screen and in real life – I just love a man who falls hard for a slightly mad woman.

I think this kind of story speaks to me because I see myself as the flappy, loud woman and Martin as the devoted partner who loves her anyway. Felix reminds me of Martin in other ways, too. Having read Dunham’s autobiography, Famesick, she seems to have a thing for a grungy indie boy. The kind of man who might be found wearing a leather jacket, and playing a small drum. Martin was wearing a skull-and-crossbones neckerchief the second time I met him, to cover the love bites I gave him from the night before.

In the final episode of the show, the couple get married, and what struck me most about this wedding scene was its casualness. It’s set on the steps of a town hall in London, and after the bride and groom have their first kiss, Felix turns to Jessica and says: “So how long do you want to stay married for?” I liked the way that joke collapsed the tension of the moment. It also felt more romantic to me because it was truthful. I like the idea of choosing to be with the person you’re with afresh, every day, rather than believing that the vows somehow lock you in and dictate that you are going to be together for ever.

I was watching the final episode alone at my parents’ house in London, and as the credits rolled I felt so swept up with love that I called Martin and proposed to him over the phone. My argument was essentially: I love you even more than these characters love each other in this TV show, so why can’t we get married too?

Martin hadn’t watched any of Too Much, so he was a bit confused, but I won him round by promising him that I didn’t want to have the huge wedding I’d been planning since I was seven any more. (Martin’s nightmare is to be the centre of attention, but I must admit I love the idea.)

We could do it in my parents’ house. Or anywhere, really. And we didn’t have to invite any guests. For all his talk of state-sponsored control and the patriarchy, Martin is quite romantic, really. He hates the concept of a Big Day, but he probably likes the idea of lifelong commitment more than I do. It took some persuading, but he said yes.

Martin and I will get married this September in my parents’ kitchen. There will be no cake, or white dress, and no tiki torches. I keep trying to sneak more people on to the guestlist and Martin keeps crossing them out. But there will be a wedding. I have Lena Dunham to thank for that.