Binky Felstead is called out AGAIN amid freebie row: Textile designer now criticises ‘wealthy’ star after she was asked to help redesign her three children’s bedrooms in exchange for social media posts

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Binky Felstead has once again been called out for her association with freebies. 

The 35-year-old Made In Chelsea star is currently facing criticism online for often asking for free products and services in exchange for promoting them on her Instagram account.

The controversy started last week when Reshmi Bennett, the 42-year-old owner of the luxury cake company Anges de Sucre, publicly claimed that Binky’s representatives had asked her to create a birthday cake for her son Wilder, offering an Instagram post in return.

Since the first message was revealed, others have shared similar experiences. Most recently, Daisy Whitehead Designs came forward, sharing a message from Binky’s interior designer asking for free blinds.

A well-known interior designer, whose name Daisy kept private, offered to design bedrooms for Binky’s three children without charge. In return, she wanted publicity on social media. She asked Daisy if she’d be interested in a similar arrangement – providing blinds for the bedrooms in exchange for exposure.

In a recent Instagram post, Daisy shared a throwback to 2023 with a message expressing her frustration. She wrote about how it bothers her when wealthy influencers ask small businesses for free products or services.

The email from Binky’s interior designer began with a friendly greeting and introduced themself as [redacted], an interior designer based in London.

I work with a repeat client named Binky Felstead, who lives in Barnes, Southwest London. She’s an influencer with a large following of 1.5 million people and is well-known from the reality TV show, Made in Chelsea.

Okay, so I’m completely obsessed with this celebrity and I’m doing all the interior design for her kids’ rooms – totally free, by the way! It’s a win-win because she promotes me on social media, and honestly, the exposure has been amazing for my work. I’m getting so much more attention online, it’s incredible!

This involved features in publications like Hello! and OK! magazines, as well as social media posts on Instagram that reached a large audience. I’m reaching out to explore if you’d be interested in a similar collaboration with us…

We’re planning to install two Roman blinds and need them to be a little wider than the window opening.

Daily Mail has contacted Binky’s representatives for comment.  

After Reshmi shared her story, illustrator Alice Peto said someone from the team of the MIC star reached out to her before Binky’s extravagant wedding in 2022.

A year after their official wedding at Chelsea’s Old Town Hall, Binky and Max Darnton had a large party to celebrate on the Greek island of Corfu.

Alice posted a screenshot of an email from 2021. The email thanked her for offering to help with the illustrations for Binky and Max’s wedding invitations.

The wedding will be held in Greece, and we need three invitations, along with menus, table names, and place cards. The couple is hoping to receive the design work for free in return for promotion on their social media.

I’d love to get a better sense of your work, so if you could share some examples, that would be great.

Alice responded to the request with a polite but firm message. She explained that, with 20 years of experience as an illustrator – including work as an in-house artist for [redacted] – she wasn’t able to offer her services for free. She wished them luck finding someone else and said it sounded like a fun project. She signed off with ‘Very best, Alice’.

Alice, a watercolour artist based in London, has seen her work published in House & Garden Magazine and has completed custom projects for prestigious retailers like Harrods and Selfridges.

Alice’s statements come after a post from baker Reshmi went viral on Instagram on Thursday. Reshmi shared screenshots of conversations with Binky’s team, revealing they asked her to create a custom birthday cake for free, offering only publicity as payment.

According to sources close to Binky, she’s being criticized for aggressively pursuing financial opportunities, with one person telling the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind that she seems to have ‘no shame’ in doing so.

Reshmi, a baker, has gained attention for publicly criticizing influencers who ask for free cakes. She frequently posts on social media stating she won’t accept ‘exposure’ instead of actual payment.

It appears Binky didn’t receive the message, because her assistant contacted Reshmi to request a cake for her son Wilder’s third birthday.

On Thursday, Reshmi posted screenshots to Instagram revealing that Binky’s representatives had asked for a free yellow train-shaped cake in exchange for a promotional post on Instagram.

Reshmi jokingly created a fake GoFundMe page requesting £1.4 million for the cake, a playful nod to the large number of followers celebrity Binky has online. It’s also believed Reshmi herself has a net worth of around £1.4 million.

At first, Reshmi hid Binky’s name in the screenshots of the emails she shared. However, she later revealed Binky’s identity in a separate post.

A spokesperson for Binky explained to the Daily Mail that the request was a typical one from her assistant. They offered to promote a bakery on social media in return for a birthday cake.

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2026-04-13 17:49