Mark Wright has reignited a lawn debate with a family photo carousel featuring sun-scorched grass. The post arrived after the lush lawn at his Essex mansion drew questions amid temporary water-use restrictions in the region.
The former The Only Way Is Essex star shared the family images on Aug. 19. Five days earlier, an Instagram video showed him making a summer cocktail beside his outdoor pool, with a strikingly green lawn visible behind him.
There is an important catch. The brown grass in Wright’s newer photos was in a park, not at the home he shares with wife Michelle Keegan.
Some social media users accused Wright of ignoring the ban after seeing his green lawn.
Why Mark Wright’s Green Lawn Drew Criticism
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Wright’s Aug. 14 Reel was intended as a summer drink demonstration, with the TV personality mixing a cocktail before relaxing beside his outdoor pool. The view of his grounds behind him quickly became a bigger talking point than the drink itself. Commenters questioned how the grass remained so green while dry weather had left lawns elsewhere looking brown.
One wrote, “FYI everyone else has a hosepipe ban?!” while others similarly focused on the contrast between Wright’s garden and the parched landscape around the region. The reaction was amplified by The Sun, which reported on the criticism and described some followers as accusing Wright of being “selfish.”
Essex & Suffolk Water’s Temporary Use Ban took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 3 across the company’s supply area. The restrictions prohibit using mains water through a hosepipe or attachments including sprinklers and most irrigation systems for activities such as watering gardens.
The company’s rules also contain exceptions, and water not sourced from the public supply including harvested rainwater, gray water and private supplies such as boreholes can be used for many activities covered by the restrictions. The company introduced the measures after prolonged dry conditions left water resources under pressure. Its latest published figures showed combined storage at the Hanningfield and Abberton reservoirs at 57% on Aug. 18, below average for the time of year.
The Brown Grass Was in a Park, Not at Wright’s Mansion
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Wright’s next family carousel created a striking visual contrast. He was photographed with his 1-year-old daughter, Palma, and members of the wider Wright family in a large field where the grass appeared dry and brown. “A special weekend with all the fam. Summer just hits different,” Wright captioned the post.
His parents, Carol and Mark Wright Sr., were among the relatives pictured, with Palma seen walking through the field and spending time with her grandparents.
The dry grass attracted attention after the debate over Wright’s home lawn, but the two locations should not be confused. OK! Magazine identified the family outing as a day in a park, meaning the photos do not show that the grass at Wright and Keegan’s mansion had turned brown.