Married at First Sight UK star Davide reveals homelessness past: 'It made me who I am today'

Married at First Sight UK (MAFS UK) groom Davide Anica has said he is “not ashamed” about his spell sleeping rough on the streets as he shared his story to help young people experiencing homelessness.

The content creator and one of the stars of the E4 reality show has teamed up with EveryYouth to represent the youth homelessness charity as a celebrity ambassador.

That partnership came after he spoke out on the reality show about how he ended up sleeping rough on the streets of Paris for two weeks.

Anica left his native Portugal to study dance after his father rejected him when he came out as gay. But, after his wallet was stolen on the Paris Métro, he was forced to sleep rough.

The TV star, who recently split with on-screen husband Keye Luke, recently visited Amber Foundation in Surrey that supports young people experiencing homelessness to share his story and hear their tale.

“I think for me, it made me who I am today. I know how strong I am because of the situation I was in. If anything, it made me very resilient,” Anica told Big Issue. “Even now, if everything fails, I will have no problem if I have to go and do anything I could so I would never be in that position ever again, because I am so resilient because of what I’ve been through.

“It was stupidity as well. It was me not wanting to admit to my family that I needed some support and some help, because I was trying to prove some of them wrong.

“I’m not afraid and ashamed of admitting it, because if my story helps anyone admit they need help then for me it is important. Hence why it stuck with me so much that now that I have some type of status it is something that I really wanted to do.”

Anica was just 19 when he spent time on the streets.

While sleeping rough, he would use jackets to keep warm and sit in Starbucks because it was open 24 hours.

He lived off baguettes and canned tuna and would shower and brush his teeth at dance school. He didn’t tell anyone at the time, something he now regrets.

“It was probably one of the scariest times in my life, because I didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself, that I was going through that and never asked for help. And I think that’s the big issue: that I never asked for help,” said Anica.

It’s far from an unusual story, although it is one that is often difficult to share.

EveryYouth CEO Nicholas Connolly said: “Davide’s experience is shared by thousands of young people across the UK. It is estimated that at least 25% of young people who become homeless do so because their family reject them when they come out.

“We applaud his openness and hope his story will serve as encouragement and shed light on what is too often a misunderstood issue. Every young person can thrive if we take the time to understand why they became homeless and provide the support they need to overcome that trauma.”

It was work that helped Anica out of homelessness eventually.

After getting paid, Anica found a room to live in and worked two jobs around his dance studies. From Thursdays to Sundays, he would work all night at a club and then go straight to a morning shift at a bakery.

Before he finished studying, Anica managed to secure work as a dancer in musicals, which took him to London’s West End, but a career-ending injury meant he retrained as cabin crew for British airlines.

The next stop was on Married at First Sight UK earlier this year and that saw him tell-all about his spell on the streets.

“I was nervous because I didn’t know what the public’s reaction would be,” he told Big Issue.

“Obviously I was back in that place where I was like: I’m a bit ashamed. But I shouldn’t be. I should be proud because I got myself out of the other end. Everyone should be proud that has gone through that. 

“The public reaction was really good. Everyone sent support and sent messages and said how inspirational it was to be able to see someone like me that has now this status being able to talk about it so openly. It is part of my story, and it is part of who I am, and I should not be ashamed of it.”

Anica has now reconnected with his father and sharing his story on the show had particular resonance as a result.

“My dad is extremely proud of me to share it because if it helps anyone understand that sometimes it just takes a little bit of time to understand what it means to be gay and to have a gay son or a gay daughter, regardless of how they identify themselves,” said Anica.

“It’s such a beautiful full-circle moment for me and my dad. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of understanding, a little bit of time and a bit more of an explanation, because it’s so common in young people.”

Read more:

• ‘Staggering’ increase in young people facing homelessness, charity says
• A single Home Office mistake ruined my teenage years and left me homeless for four years
• Young LGBTQ+ people are made homeless because of who they are – but official stats don’t show it

Anica’s new role saw him recently take part in a Q&A session with young people living in supported accommodation in Surrey through the Amber Foundation.

The charity is one of 21 that comprise the EveryYouth network working to tackle homelessness among 16-25 year olds across the UK.

Many of the stories Anica heard during the session resonated with the position he found himself in.

Now he wants to use Married at First Sight UK’s platform to shine a spotlight on youth homelessness.

“Some of them talked about their passions and what they want to do with it. You can see there is a hunger for being able to get themselves out of there,” he said.

“I met one person in particular at the Amber Foundation who was moving in with his girlfriend and he was studying carpentry, which is really cool. It was just a good example of someone that was there for a while but now he’s ready to move on into the real world.”

He added: “Doing this is so important to me. It’s the fact that I can bring awareness to a charity that is so close to my heart, that does so much for so many young people, not only for a short-term solution. It’s a longevity thing that they do and they prep them for the real world.”

Married at First Sight grew into a reality TV phenomenon during the Covid pandemic, driven by the success of the Australian version of the show. The British show has since switched formats to emulate its Oz counterpart.

The show attracts plenty of people who crave fame and alumni have gone on to do everything from cropping up on other reality shows to dating Katie Price.

Anica is determined to turn MAFS UK’s legions of fans on to tackling youth homelessness, particularly at a time when more than 118,000 young people faced homelessness across the UK last year.

“It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever done and one of the most vulnerable things I’ve ever done. Not only going on the show but talking about my story itself,” said Anica of his spell on Married at First Sight UK.

“It is terrifying because, you know, once you say it is out there for the entire world to see, it was intense, emotional. I wouldn’t change it for the world, because I made friends for life.

“I am still very happy that I got to do that and I got to show me and my character and the public has been so kind. I’m very appreciative of every single person that has followed me and that has commented, has sent me DMs. As a community – and that’s how I see them as my people – I know we can make a difference and that’s all I want to do.”

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