Genuinely scared about seeing these two in the same room again
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Tim from Love Is Blind drags Alex and claims he ‘had to lie’ for her hours before reunion
The dates for the MAFS UK 2024 reunion have been revealed, and it’s sooner than you think
It's set to feature 'one of the most explosive showdowns in the show's history'
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Haters, assemble! This is officially the worst Marvel TV show of all time
The critics did not love these shows 3,000
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Laura Vaughan’s MAFS Diary: Amy has got the ick from Luke and he’s pushing her again – I think ADAM is a better match
IT’S couple swap week – and watching this really brought it all back to me.
I hated this part of the process. I had become quite attached to Arthur and I had to swap with Thomas. Honestly, it was not a great few days for me.
In my last diary entry, I said how I think that Kieran isn’t attracted to Kristina anymore – and he’s clutching at straws not to be seen as the villain.
It looks like things haven’t improved between the couple, and not only that, Luke and Amy aren’t going well either.
If you are as obsessed with Married At First Sight as I am, you need to keep reading, as I’ve got some thoughts…
Amy and Luke’s downfall
I’m going to talk about Amy and Luke as well. Amy has got the ick.
She’s got the ick from Luke, she doesn’t like how he approaches things overtly sexually, it’s pushing her away a lot.
Adam is a lot more understated and more chilled.
I think we saw Amy’s personality come out in that relaxed environment.
With Luke she always feels like she’s on her guard because she doesn’t know what he’s going to say.
He would give me the ick a little bit.
It also seems like Amy and I might have similar taste in men.
…If rumours are to be believed – it sounds like she’s had a date with my ex husband Arthur.
Polly and Adam
The couple that got a lot of screen time was Adam and Polly.
Before we get into it, I just want to address the elephant in the room – Adam is attracted to Amy.
We’ve seen him be effortful with her, saying he’s giving her princess treatment – we know that he can do it.
I just feel that Polly has never made him feel like he needs to impress her, probably because Polly is always like been very insecure in the relationship, so he wrongly so, feels like he knows exactly where he has her and doesn’t need to make as much effort.
Polly has every right to be upset watching this episode back…
So the things that I think she has every right to be upset over include him mentioning that he wants Amy, jokingly so, to try on some of the underwear around the shop that they are in, to see how it looks.
And sharing a bed… there’s no real reason for you to be sharing your bed with another wife.
But Polly doesn’t actually know this…
What she chooses to get upset over is that he’s bought underwear for her – I’ve never seen a gift blow up in someone’s face quite so much.
And why didn’t we see Polly’s reaction to Amy and Adam sharing a bed?
It was also really uncomfortable when Polly was punching the punching bag and saying ‘this is what I’m going to do if Adam doesn’t put out soon’.
We should not be forcing intimacy with someone, I’m sorry, we should be reading the body language queues and not making them do something that they’re not comfortable with… and then joking about resorting to violence.
Kieran and Kristina are over?!
Kieran and Kristina have really struggled. I just don’t understand the step change.
He’s saying that she’s uncannily similar to his ex girlfriend… but then could only list two things that made them similar.
He’s also holding her to ransom over her saying that her priority is to find a husband.
Well yeah her current priority is to find one, she’s on Married At First Sight?!
The dramatic breakdown of Kieran up against the wall crying, perfectly juxtaposed by Channel 4 saying if you want to join the experiment next season…
Guys, who would want this?!
I can’t wait for the dinner party episode when this will be talked about within the group.
Amy and Luke are obviously in for a bit of a bumpy ride. I predict that it’s the end for Kieran and Kristina.
Winter Fuel Payment change confirmed in budget as 10million lose payment
MILLIONS of state pensioners will miss out on the winter fuel payment, it’s been confirmed in the Autumn Statement.
Only those on Pension Credit, or other means-tested benefits, will qualify for up to £300 in energy bill help starting this year.
The move was first announced back in July but has been confirmed today by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the official Budget documents.
It comes after Ms Reeves also confirmed that the state pension will go up by £473 a year.
Until now, winter fuel payments have been made available to everyone above state pension age, which is currently 66 for both men and women.
The Government announced the payment would become means-tested meaning only those on certain benefits are eligible.
Ms Reeves previously said it was a “difficult decision” and not one she wanted to make.
Her comments came as she revealed plans to tackle a projected overspend of £22billion.
This includes those on income support, tax credits, Universal Credit, and largely Pension Credit.
That policy is expected to reduce the number of pensioners who receive the payment by 10million, from 11.4million to 1.5million, saving some £1.4billion this financial year.
The winter fuel payment is designed to help pensioners pay for their energy bills over the winter.
It’s worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.
This is typically when households use more energy due to the colder weather.
WATCH RACHEL REEVES ON NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS
By Ryan Sabey, Deputy Political Editor
RACHEL Reeves will be grilled in a special Budget edition of The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show today.
Our Political Editor Harry Cole will put the Chancellor on the spot shortly after she’s finished delivering her crucial address in the House of Commons.
It will be available to watch on thesun.co.uk, YouTube and Sun social channels at 5.30pm.
Topics will include her decision on whether to spare motorists a fuel duty rise, and the expected eye-watering tax rises she will impose.
Since its launch earlier this year, NMTB has cemented its place at the heart of British politics.
During the General Election campaign The Sun was the only print publisher to host back-to-back grillings of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
Footage from The Election Showdown has been viewed over 15 million times.
NMTB has also featured interviews with ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, as well as senior politicians Nigel Farage, James Cleverly, Wes Streeting, Steve Reed and Bridget Phillipson
Since the move was first announced, Ms Reeves and the government have faced huge backlash from charities and campaigners.
It comes after thousands of Sun readers flooded The Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS helpline earlier this month, looking for help to hang on to the payment.
The Sun has now launched a free tool to help you check whether you will get the winter fuel payment this year.
To be eligible for this year’s winter fuel payment, you must have an active claim for the benefits mentioned below during the “qualifying week,” which runs from 16 to 22 September.
These include Universal Credit, employment and support allowance (ESA), jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income support, child tax credit and working tax credit and pension credit.
Most households automatically receive the winter fuel payment, including those on pension credit.
As new claims for pension credit can be backdated by up to three months, you can still apply now and qualify for this year’s winter fuel payment.
The absolute deadline to claim the benefit and qualify is December 21.
In a bid to get more people signed up to pension credit the Chancellor also announced that the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit will be brought together for new claimants from 2026.
This is two years earlier than previously announced, and will support more people to receive the benefits that they are entitled to
What is the Winter Fuel Payment?
Consumer reporter Sam Walker explains all you need to know about the payment.
The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free benefit designed to help cover the cost of heating through the colder months.
Most who are eligible receive the payment automatically.
Those who qualify are usually told via a letter sent in October or November each year.
If you do meet the criteria but don’t automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, you will have to apply on the government’s website.
You’ll qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment this winter if:
- you were born on or before September 23, 1958
- you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of September 16 to 22, 2024, known as the “qualifying week”
- you receive Pension Credit, Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, Income Support, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit
If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both the following apply:
- you live in Switzerland or a EEA country
- you have a “genuine and sufficient” link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK and having a family in the UK
But there are exclusions – you can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.
This is because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.
You will also not qualify if you:
- are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
- need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you can not claim public funds
- were in prison for the whole “qualifying week”
- lived in a care home for the whole time between 26 June to 24 September 2023, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Payments are usually made between November and December, with some made up until the end of January the following year.
CHECK IF YOU QUALIFY
Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or to £332.95 if you have a partner.
This is known as “guarantee credit”.
If your income is lower than this, you’re very likely to be eligible for the benefit.
However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.
You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:
- Attendance allowance
- The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
- The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
- Armed forces independence payment
- The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.
You could get the “savings credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:
- You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
- You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension
This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.
Pension credit opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments, council tax reductions and the winter fuel payment.
Claims for pension credit also open doors to a number of freebies and discounts.
For example, pension credit claimants over 75 qualify for a free TV licence worth up to £169.50 a year.
Claims for the benefit also provide eligibility to £25 a week cold weather payments and the £150 warm home discount.
We have a guide on all the state pension freebies and discounts
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
First-ever video shows an egg ‘exploding’ from the ovaries during ovulation – and it’s no wonder it hurts
FOR the first time, scientists have been able to capture the process of ovulation on video in astounding detail.
A breathtaking new clip shows a pulsing egg cell exploding out of its follicle – a sac in the ovaries that houses immature eggs before they’re released for fertilisation.
It shows the follicle bulging before releasing the egg in a rupture of cells and fluid.
Ovulation is the phase of the menstrual cycle when the ovary releases an egg for it to travel down the fallopian tube and be fertilised by sperm.
Despite the violent ejection of the egg from the sac, it’s not usually a painful process – but some women might experience sharp twinges or a dull ache while ovulating.
The menstrual cycle is centred around this egg release process, which tends to happen midway through the 28-day cycle.
If the egg isn’t fertilised by sperm – which would result in a pregnancy – the egg is reabsorbed into the body 12 to hours later and falling hormone levels trigger the start of your period.
If the eggs does come into contact with sperm, it will attach itself to the lining of the womb and develop into an embryo.
Women start developing and releasing eggs once they start their period and will probably ovulate around 400 times.
Around 15 to 30 eggs will mature in their sacs during each cycle, though only the largest and best-developed follicle ultimately releases its egg.
The follicle will swell until it ruptures at ovulation to release the egg.
This is the moment captured in astounding detail by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, who documented the entire process of ovulation in mouse follicles in real-time.
The team used follicles extracted from mice and then grown in petri dishes, before being encouraged to ovulate with the help of specific hormones.
The clip in question shows a mature mouse egg cell being explosively explosively expelled from its fluid-filled sac into a lab dish.
The new live imaging method developed by the team allows for the process of ovulation to be studied in unprecedented detail and could contribute to fertility research.
Researchers said the actual process of ovulation remains poorly understood as ovaries are nestled deep within the body, making them difficult to access.
On top of this, it can be hard to know when exactly ovulation will occur – it happens in a very narrow time frame and we can’t predict which of the two ovaries will release an egg on any given month.
The Max Planck Institute team managed to document the entire ovulation process by extracting ovarian follicles from mice and observing them under a microscope.
Max Planck director Melina Schuh said: “We can distinguish three phases.
“The follicle expands, contracts, and finally releases the egg.”
The first phase, follicle expansion, is driven by the release of hyaluronic acid.
Under the microscope, the researchers tracked how the size and shape of the follicles changed during this phase.
Christopher Thomas, a former researcher in Dr Schuh’s department, explained: “During ovulation, fluid flows into the follicles, causing them to grow significantly.”
According to the cell biologist, hyaluronic acid secretion is essential for this growth and for the success of ovulation.
When the researchers blocked the production of hyaluronic acid, the follicles expanded less and ovulation didn’t occur.
Everything you need to know about ovulation
Ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovaries.
A woman is born with all her eggs and once she starts her periods, one egg develops and is released during each menstrual cycle.
Pregnancy happens if sperm meets and fertilises the egg.
Sperm can survive in the fallopian tubes for up to seven days after sex, whereas eggs only survive about 12 to 24 hours.
Occasionally, more than one egg is released during ovulation.
If more than one egg is fertilised, it can lead to a multiple pregnancy, such as twins.
Theoretically, there’s only a short time when women can get pregnant, and that is the time around ovulation.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when ovulation happens, but in most women it happens around 10 to 16 days before their period.
Women who have a regular 28-day cycle are likely to be fertile around day 14 of their menstrual cycle, but this won’t apply to women whose cycles are shorter or longer.
You can’t get pregnant if ovulation doesn’t occur.
Some methods of hormonal contraception – such as the combined pill, the contraceptive patch and the contraceptive injection – work by stopping ovulation.
Can you get pain during ovulation?
Some people do in fact get ovulation pain.
It often:
- Feels like a dull pain or sharp sudden twinges
- Lasts from a few minutes to one or two days
- Happens about 14 days before a period
- Only affects one side of your tummy at a time
- Switches sides each time, depending on which ovary releases an egg
You may also have a little vaginal bleeding or discharge during ovulation.
Source: NHS
During follicle contraction, smooth muscle cells in the outer follicle layer cause the follicle to contract.
Tabea Lilian Marx, who co-authored the research, added: “When the follicle ruptures, which happens in the third phase, the egg is released and ovulation is complete.
“The surface of the follicle bulges outward and eventually ruptures, releasing the follicular fluid, the cumulus cells, and, finally, the egg.”
After ovulation, the follicle forms a structure known as the corpus luteum, which produces the hormone progesterone to prepare the uterus for the implantation of an embryo.
If the egg is not fertilised or the fertilised egg doesn’t implant in the womb, the corpus luteum regresses after 14 days and a new menstrual cycle begins.
Dr Schuh said: “Our findings show that ovulation is a remarkably robust process.
“Although an external stimulus is essential to trigger ovulation, the subsequent processes operate independently of the rest of the ovary, as all the necessary information is contained within the follicle itself.
“With our new method, we and other researchers can further investigate the mechanisms of ovulation and hopefully gain new insights for human fertility research.”
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George Baldock: Dele Alli and Dean Henderson lead mourners at funeral of ex-Premier League star after tragic death at 31
DELE ALLI and Dean Henderson have joined mourners at the funeral of George Baldock.
The former Sheffield United defender was found dead in the swimming pool of his Athens home on October 9.
Baldock was laid to rest on Wednesday at a funeral service in Milton Keynes.
The ceremony was attended by a host of his teammates from Baldock’s lengthy career.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder was joined by Alli, Henderson, and Oli McBurnie.
Henderson was spotted earlier this month making his own tribute on the touchline ahead of England’s Nations League game with Greece.
The goalkeeper spent two years with Baldock at Bramall Lane during a loan spell from Manchester United.
He would later describe Baldock as a “great teammate, great player and also a great family man.”
Born in Buckinghamshire, Baldock had Greek roots through his grandmother and played for the country 12 times.
He graduated from MK Dons’ youth set-up, where Alli also played before his move to Tottenham in 2015.
Baldock made his name with the Blades, playing over 200 times for the club 2017 and 2024.
He had joined Panathinaikos from South Yorkshire this summer.
The all-action defender made four appearances for the Greek side, including three in the league.
His most recent appearance came against Olympiacos on October 6.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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‘I don’t know what I could have done’ says Jurgen Klopp after criticism over ex-Liverpool boss’ new job
JURGEN KLOPP has defended his new role with Red Bull after the former Liverpool boss was hit with criticism.
Klopp came under fire for taking up a role with the energy drink conglomerate, where he will begin as Head of Global Soccer from January 1, 2025.
The German coach was criticised for joining Red Bull, given the company’s differing approach to football from the rest of the German leagues.
Red Bull clubs have been accused of financial doping, rather than being fan-led organisations with deep history in the leagues.
But Klopp has defended the organisation, which controls teams such as RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.
Speaking on the Einfach mal Luppen podcast with brothers Felix and Toni Kroos, Klopp said: “I have to say clearly that I have never followed the Red Bull story so critically.”
Going on to explain that Red Bull have helped nurture massive football talents across Europe.
Referencing stars such as Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konaté and Christopher Nkunku as examples of players who have gone on to succeed elsewhere.
While he also admitted that there was no way he could keep everyone happy when choosing his new career path.
He said: “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, definitely not. And I personally love all of my former clubs.
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“I don’t really know what I could have done to make everyone happy.”
Adding: “It was always clear, well, clear to me, that I wouldn’t do nothing.
“And then the Red Bull story came up. So for me it’s outstanding, I have to say honestly.”
It’s certainly a lucrative offer for the former Borussia Dortmund manager too.
Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Klopp will be pocketing between £8m-£10m per year in his new role with Red Bull.
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