How we met: Professor Green & Millie Mackintosh

Green says: 'I know I couldn't be with me. I'm a huge pessimist. But Millie is a big optimist, so we have a good balance' (Jean Goldsmith)

Professor Green, 30

Green (real name Stephen Manderson) rose to fame after winning a rap-battle tournament in 2008. He has since released two top-five albums, 'Alive Till I'm Dead' and 'At Your Inconvenience'. He lives in Chelsea with wife Millie Mackintosh, who he married last year

I was chatting with Phoebe, my publicist and agony aunt a few years ago, about Made in Chelsea. I was saying how my only knowledge of the show was the Chelsea bird who'd just appeared on the cover of FHM. Phoebe said, "Well, I know her." And I said, messing around, "Why not introduce me?" Later that day I get a text from Phoebe with a phone number saying, "She's expecting your call." Before I could bottle it I pressed call, and pretended to be brave…

We spoke for about 45 minutes: it was an awkward chat as we didn't know anything about one another. I was like, "Hi, it's Stephen," and she was like, "Who's that?" I later found out that when I called her she was trying frantically to pause [my song] "Just Be Good to Green" on YouTube:

I took her to the Groucho [Club] for our first date. I said to her, "You're not really the sort of bird I would go for," and she said, "Yeah, you're not the type of guy I normally go out with – I normally go for the bad boys!" She just called me a good boy, but in a clever way – I was like, I'm into her.

I was brought up by my grandmother, who said class isn't dictated by what you have in the bank but how you treat people and that's something Millie and I have in common: she's wholesome and she's got great values.

I know I couldn't be with me: I'm an absolute nightmare. So I think Millie is commendable just for being with me, and she's helped me no end. I'm a huge pessimist – and too much pessimism can lead to depression. But Millie is a big optimist. I think that can be dangerous, too, if it becomes naïve, so we have a good balance; I just hope I haven't made her into a more negative person.

I wasn't cross about the recent allegations in Heat [that the couple's marriage was on the rocks], but it was properly preposterous: they were like, we've only spotted them out twice in six months – it must be on the rocks. And I'm like, yeah, OK, so we're not living our life in the public eye, we're enjoying staying at home and being a married couple: we're not here for you, Heat magazine!

One of our most priceless moments was during our honeymoon in Capri: we were trying to be well behaved, and keep it low-key, but then we met these other newlyweds from Chelsea and they insisted on a big night. I remember bumping into Chris de Burgh at one point, who I met when I did The Xtra Factor. He kept singing "Lady in Red" at Millie – as she was lying on the floor plastered – and then anyone else who would listen. That was mental; we called it a night after that.

Millie Mackintosh, 24

A make-up artist and heir to the Rowntree Mackintosh sweet-manufacturing dynasty, Mackintosh was one of the longest-serving cast members of scripted reality TV series 'Made in Chelsea', which she appeared in until last year

I'd just done this nerve-wracking cover shoot for the December issue of FHM, in 2011. And one bizarre thing to come from it, after the issue came out, was an email from the editor. He said, "This is a bit random, but Professor Green's publicist has been in touch; could he have your number – he's funny, and a nice guy." So I said, "Why not!" We ended up chatting for 45 minutes: I'd been watching Frozen Planet earlier – and he seemed to know a lot of facts about polar bears, which I loved.

After that we had a lot of text banter: he can be quite rude and sarcastic, which I like. He was about to go off on tour, but you don't want the whole messaging-without-meeting thing to go on too long, so we met up the night before he left. He picked me up, which was gentlemanly, and we went to the Groucho.

It might have been weird to have known him beforehand as a fan, so I'm glad I didn't know much about him. I'd not read anything either: some of the interviews I did when I was first on Made in Chelsea were cringe-making, so I wanted to know about him from him, not the internet.

When I met Steve I was in this unhappy party-circuit bubble, which was quite unhealthy. But he has brought out the best side in me: I feel happy and secure now. As an artist and a rapper he has a hard image, but I get to see a different side to him: he's kind, gentle, well-spoken – though I won't say he's soppy or overly sweet. We're both foodies and we love spending time at home cooking; I'll put on Classic FM; sometimes he'll hear something, stop what he's doing and record it: any genre can inspire him.

When it came to doing a new series of Made in Chelsea after we'd got together, the producers were like, "What's going on in your life?" and I said, "Well, I've met someone." And they were like, "Great, when can we get them on camera?" I said, "You can't," and they were like, "But that will affect how much you can be on the show." I realised, I wasn't going to live my life for the show, so I moved on.

Steve's so good at surprises: he lured me to Paris, pretending it was a business meeting, and then proposed, which was amazing.

I'll always remember, on our wedding day last year, that as I was walking down the aisle, I stopped, took a deep breath to calm myself and I let out a sob – and managed to get some snot down my face just as Stephen turned to look at me. So now Stephen's always saying, "The first thing I saw, as you walked down that aisle, was that you had snot on your face!"

Professor Green's new album, 'Growing Up in Public', will be out later in the year. Mackintosh will appear on the BBC's 'Celebrity Masterchef' later this year (millie-mackintosh.com)