Carol Wright has been accused of aiming ‘subtle digs’ at daughter-in-law Michelle Keegan after sharing a series of ‘terribly timed’ comments about women in bikinis.
The 65-year-old has suffered furious social media backlash for claiming thong bikinis and those who wear them are ‘gross and unattractive’ during a recent instalment of Wright At Home, the podcast she hosts with daughters Jess and Natalya.
Former The Only Way Is Essex star Jess and her younger sister, who both agreed with their mother, have since apologised, while the clip – branded ‘degrading and disrespectful’ by listeners – has been hastily removed from their social media channels.
But friends claim the comments were a thinly veiled dig at Michelle, 38, who manages her own Orfila Bee swimwear range and typically fills her Instagram platform with bikini content.
A source told The Sun: ‘To put it bluntly, Carol is the textbook mother-in-law from hell. She is completely obsessed with her sons and is your stereotypical possessive boy mum.
‘The tension between Carol and Michelle is very subtle. Carol thinks she’s having a subtle dig, but Michelle sees straight through her, and everything is noted.’
Carol Wright has been accused of aiming ‘subtle digs’ at daughter-in-law Michelle Keegan by making a series of disparaging comments about women in bikinis on the podcast she hosts with daughters Jess and Natalya
It’s understood that Carol’s exasperated son has previously urged her to be mindful of her comments around his wife.
‘Mark is completely obsessed with Michelle and her happiness is his priority, he won’t have his wife upset by anyone, least of all his own mum – he has told Carol she must stop,’ the source added.
Despite being removed, the clip has found its way onto TikTok – where listeners have reacted furiously to the discussion, during which Jess claimed her husband Will ‘hates’ thong bikinis, while Carol said husband Mark Sr finds them ‘unsexy’.
And separate sources say the comments were aired at the worst possible time, with Michelle and Mark celebrating their daughter’s first birthday in March.
‘It’s all been terrible timing. They were trying to celebrate Palma’s first birthday, but this is all anyone is talking about.
‘Normally, Carol would post it all over her social media, but she’s lying low amid the backlash.’
Jess, Natalya and Carol launched Wright At Home in November last year, and while the show has gained mild traction since its launch, the bikini discussion has stormed TikTok – despite the minds behind the Instagram page removing the clip.
The discussion began with Jess, who claimed: ‘I can’t stand how it’s acceptable to walk around on the beach in a thong.’
Natalya added: ‘Do you know what’s worse, these girls who do wear them, fair enough if you’re gonna wear them, at least if you’re gonna bend over and put your towel over your bed, put a sarong on!’
Joining the conversation, Carol said: ‘I really do think this is not sexy for men to look at.’
The 65-year-old has suffered furious backlash for claiming thong bikinis and those who wear them are ‘gross and unattractive’ during a recent instalment of Wright At Home
Carol has since apologised for her comments, while the discussion – branded ‘degrading and disrespectful’ by furious listeners – has been hastily removed from their social media channels
Jess, Natalya and Carol launched Wright At Home in November last year, and while the show has gained mild traction since its launch, the bikini discussion has stormed TikTok
The family matriarch then regaled a story from a holiday with her husband, who she revealed weighed in on the look of three women with varied figures.
She said: ‘Me and daddy was walking along the promenade and there were three girls in front of us and they were all different shapes and sizes but they had their whole arses out and daddy was looking and he said: “It doesn’t even look sexy”.’
Many social media users shared throwback images of Jess in barely-there bikinis – many of which showed much of her bottom due to the size of the swimwear.
Those raising the hypocrite line wrote: ‘Did no one see Jess on Towie? She was always in this sort of bikini when it was pool parties etc xxx…
‘Literally. pot kettle black and all that xx… one rule for everyone else and their own rules for them, double standards at its finest lol.’
‘The tension between Carol and Michelle is very subtle. Carol thinks she’s having a subtle dig, but Michelle sees straight through her, and everything is noted’
One image in particular arose, showing Jess at her 2021 hen do walking through an airport in a fringed skirt with miniscule bottoms worn underneath.
Upset arose at the prospect of women failing to support other women, with one TikTok user declaring they are not concerned with Will’s opinion.
They wrote: ‘It’s disgusting women still have to deal with other women tearing them down for their clothing choices…
‘Jess hunny, I do NOT dress for your husband and I certainly don’t want him imagining me naked. That is not why the baddies wear thong bikinis.’
