'It feels personal' Longridge 'Love is blind' star to run London Marathon
With just days until the London Marathon, one Longridge-born TV personality is lacing up his trainers for a good cause.
A TV personality from Longridge is warming up to run the London Marathon on Sunday for charity.
Benaiah Grünewald-Bridi will run for Catholic aid agency CAFOD. Since featuring on hit dating series, Love Is Blind UK in 2024, Benaiah has used his public profile to support various charities. This year he’s taking things one step further by training for the iconic long-distance race.
Benaiah, who grew up in Longridge near Preston, attended a Catholic school and has fond memories of raising money for charity as a lad.
He said: “CAFOD has been part of my life for as long as I can remember — from school assemblies and Fast days to learning about what it really means to live with compassion, responsibility and faith. It’s something that shaped me growing up, and those values have stayed with me.
“Running the London Marathon for CAFOD isn’t just a challenge, it feels personal. It’s about honouring where I come from, what I believe in, and the kind of life I want to live. And now, doing this with the support of my wife Nicole, family and friends, it means even more.
“They are all my biggest supporters and my strength. This run isn’t just about 26.2 miles — it’s about putting my faith into action and using whatever platform I have to help people who need it most.”
Benaiah, a freelance drone operator, and Nicole met as strangers on the reality TV dating show in August 2023 – tying the knot in an episode at the end of the series.
Love is Blind sees singletons enter ‘pods’ – where they then date others without ever being able to see their potential companion and even get engaged before they’ve seen each other.
The couple both admit their road to love wasn’t the smoothest as Nicole was briefly engaged to another contestant called Sam – before realising she’d chosen the wrong man.
A few weeks later, Nicole and Benaiah reunited and confirmed their feelings for each other and he popped the question.
The pair tied the knot in September 2023 – a month after meeting in the pods – despite being “torn” on whether or not they’d actually go through with a wedding.
CAFOD is a humanitarian charity, providing support to those in war-torn countries and people suffering hardship around the world. Money is raised via donations and fundraising, including a number of sponsorship events throughout the year.