A millionaire family who splash out £80,000 on exotic trips abroad struggle to adapt to life on the breadline after swapping budgets with a skint single mother-of-three on Sunday’s Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday.
Gail and Matt Waterman, from South Yorkshire, who made their millions with a miracle hair product company, appear on the Channel 5 show tomorrow as they reveal their fears their two sons, Marco, 1, and Lucas, 13, are a bit too pampered.
The couple are dismayed after swapping budgets with Nadine Newman, a single-mother-of-three from Essex, and travelling to a caravan park in Norfolk for a holiday.
The culture clash proves a lot to bear for the family, who are shocked by how small their accommodation for the holiday will be, with Matt saying: ‘Our dog kennel is bigger than that caravan.’
Gail and Matt Waterman, from South Yorkshire, who made their millions with a miracle hair product company, appear on the Channel 5 show tomorrow as they reveal their fears their two sons, Marco, 1, and Lucas, 13, are a bit too pampered
Gail and Matt, who made their fortune thanks to a hair growth product, live in a lavish mansion on seven acres of land, which includes six bedrooms and three kitchens.
In spite of their young age, their sons are already jet setters, with their parents forking as much as £80,000 a year on exotic getaways for the family.
Marco and Lucas favourite holiday was a stay in Cancun, where the clan stayed in a presidential suite.
‘I say: “I’d rather cry in a Lamborghini than in a Mini”,’ Gail jokes, reflecting on her taste for the finer things.
The family swap lives with mother-of-three Nadine, left and her mother Tina, right, who travel to Germany for an all-inclusive holiday
In spite of their lavish lifestyle, Gail and Matt come from modest families, with Matt growing up in council housing in Newcastle.
But while they have learned the value of money themselves, the couple admit their own children can be slightly too pampered.
‘The other day, Marco said to me, “that’s only £58,000” and I was quite shocked that he actually said that,’ Gail reveals.
The mother-of-two, who used to holiday in caravan parks in Clifford with her family as a child, hopes the trip will give her boys some perspective.
Gail jokes ‘there’s going to be a murder’ when the family pull up to the caravan in Norfolk, while her husband Matt says their dog kennel at home is bigger than the space
They head to Norfolk, where they will be staying on a £100 budget for a week, after swapping holidays with Nadine, who saves all year round to afford a getaway with her family.
As they pull up to the caravan, Gail confesses: ‘I think there’s going to be a murder.’
‘I’m missing my bed, my bedroom, my games and I’m finding the holiday is not the best, I hope he doesn’t get worst,’ Lucas says.
As the week progresses, tensions rise between the two boys, with them bickering and fighting around the caravan while Matt and Gail look on.
During the trip to Norfolk, the family end up taking part in arts and crafts activities, as well as going seal watching
Father-of-two Matt reveals he usually relies on his mansion’s CCTV to settle scores between Marco and Lucas when they argue, but there is no such thing on the caravan park.
Gail decides to throw money at the issue, and spends half the remaining budget for the week on a seal spotting expedition.
However, the boat trip is a let down when the Watermans only spot three seals, with Marco saying: ‘There wasn’t much to see to be honest, I’m a bit disappointed.
But Matt uses this as a way to make his sons reflect, and tells them: ‘Imagine that family saving all year rounds to see some seals and they only see three.’
‘We’ve come from nothing me and Gail and we’ve had stayed in caravans but when you’ve had pure luxury for a while, you think “oh my god, this is what we used to do and use to enjoy”,’ Matt says.
Nadine realises on her trip that she needs to make more time for herself in order to unwind, instead of worrying about her children all the time
Going to the local shop for some sustenance, Gail, who has grown accustomed to fine dining, gets a wake-up call.
‘You don’t realise until you’re on a budget what choices you got. I’ve never had to do that for 20 odd years,’ she says.
‘That’s two meals so far and that’s 10 percent of the budget, I’m really worried now,’ she adds after collecting some food essentials.
The family are later shocked to find that the price of their holiday would have only been £280, including their £100 food and budget activities.
Tina and Nadine find time to reconnect during the German holiday, taking advantage of the all-inclusive childcare service
Gail and Matt are relieved to head back home after staying in the caravan for so long, but they hope the experience is a learning curve for Marco and Lucas.
Gail explains: ‘Caravaning may not be for us, but the activities that we’ve done, we absolutely loved. So we’re gonna take those home and go to local places and create our little family memories.
‘At the end of the day it’s all about family. We could be anywhere in the world, as long as we’re together, doesn’t matter,’ Gail tells the camera.
‘I can see why people enjoy going to a caravan because they have time with their family, they can try new stuff and have fun with their family.’ Marco says.
Nadine’s youngest daughter Grace is delighted to pet goats and rabbits during her stay at the adventure park
Meanwhile mother-of-three Nadine is sent on an all-inclusive trip to Germany and is delighted to be able to treat her daughters to activities she could normally never afford.
She lost her job due to the coronavirus pandemic and spends each waking minute taking care of her two daugthers Macey and Grace, who are both under ten.
Her mother Tina, who says the family survive on ‘yellow sticker’ shops, also helps by looking after Nadine’s eldest son, Dylan, who doesn’t like living with his sisters, and is autistic, dyslexic and has ADHD.
Tina says: ‘She’s always helped me and I’ve always helped her and that’s the way family should be.’
Grace and Macey make the most of the park, with Nadine saying she is happy she doesn’t have to worry about the price tags for once
‘Our holidays are usually caravan holidays, we love it. We try to save as much money as we can for activities for the children,’ Nadine says.
‘We’ve had to make the best of what we do but as long as children are happy we’re happy,’ she adds.
This includes a backstage tour of the park’s wildlife centre, with Nadine admitting: ‘To get a full hands-on encounter with the animals wouldn’t be something we’re able to afford so today was absolutely magical.
But the getaway, which comes with free childcare, allows the two women to realise they need time to themselves in order to catch up, instead of running around after the kids.
But upon learning the price of the holiday, Tina and Nadine are left in shock and confess they think the rich family have ‘more money than sense’
The mother-daughter duo agree to have another night by themselves, treating themselves to a nice dinner.
However, the price tags on the menu leave them gobsmacked, with Nadine remarking one meal is worth one week’s food shop for the family.
‘No wonder rich people are so skinny,’ Nadine jokes, before ordering meat and chips.
The mother-of-three is shocked to find the German holiday amounted to £7,620, saying she would never spend so much money on one holiday.
‘They have more money than sense,’ she tells Tina.
Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday airs Sunday night at 9pm on Channel 5.