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Man marrying daughter's ex-boyfriend praised after giving £250k to mum who survived on £59 a week
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A man who proposed to his daughter's ex-boyfriend is being praised after giving £250k to a mum who survived on £59 a week.
Multi-millionaire Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who is worth nearly £200 million, decided to donate a fortune to struggling single mum Ocean after they traded lives in the Channel 5 reality TV show Rich House Poor House.
Barrie first made headlines alongside his ex-husband, Tony, after being the first couple in the UK to be listed as 'Parent 1' and 'Parent 2' on a baby's birth certificate instead of 'Mother' and 'Father'.
The pair welcomed their twins Aspen and Saffron back in 1999, making them the UK's first gay couple to become parents via surrogates.
Since then, Barrie went on to date and then propose to her daughter Saffron's ex-boyfriend Scott Hutchinson.
Barrie, who has been dubbed 'Britain's Most Lavish Dad' has fervently defended his parenting style after claims he was 'spoiling' his kids with expensive gifts.
Such gifts include unlimited credit cards, a £500,000 ($700,000) ring as well as a $2.8m yacht and $34.6k worth of clothes.
So, it was definitely a change of lifestyle for Barrie when he swapped his six-bedroom Florida mansion for Ocean's flat over the course of five days.
At the end of the week, the pair met up to discuss the experience and viewers have been left stunned by what followed.
In Sunday's episode (21 May), Barrie told Ocean: "When I spoke to your friend Leah, she mentioned about the baby food and how you helped her with her children, freezing it you’d always be there and make more batches for her.
"To me that really struck as there is definitely a market for baby food."
The millionaire continued: "I’m thinking that maybe there’s an opportunity for us both," before telling Ocean he want to 'work out' how they could 'set up some kind of brand' together.
He added: "I will back you, and I’ll back you with an initial £250,000."
Clearly overwhelmed by the announcement, Ocean replied: "I was not thinking this experience would change my life in the long run."
The mum went on to reveal: "I’m so shocked that they want to invest their time and money in me. I’m lost for words.
I’m so excited for the future. I’m over the moon."
Barrie later told Fabulous: "I absolutely love Ocean and her daughter.
"I want to see them get out of the poverty trap and make something of themselves, and I believe that she can do it."
He added: "£250,000 is a lot of money but the truth of the matter is a business needs a good injection of cash right from the start to give it a boost.
"This initial amount should be the boost she needs to get her food business off the ground."
The big-spender resolved: "At the end of the day I don’t want to waste any of my money, I want to make more money and I think with Ocean, I can do that."
And it wasn't just Ocean who was overcome with emotion at the news.
One Facebook user posted: "Such generous and caring people. I love this programme."
A second commented: "They are a lovely couple and considering what they've got they are so generous and caring.
"Not many people like them - good luck to the young woman and I wish the two men all the love in the world."
A final Facebook user penned: "It was such a real story we were [sic] shown. Good luck to the lass."
