A Married At First Sight UK groom suffered a fractured cheekbone, shattered teeth and a broken nose after a brutal attack that left him scarred for life.
Steven Springett, 34, saw his football career cut short in his early 20s after nine men savagely kicked and punched him over a past college dispute.
He was confined to a face mask for six months, during which time he did not want to leave the house, and has since undergone extensive reconstructive surgery.
Now, ahead of starring in the E4 series where he will be matched with a bride during Monday evening’s show, he said the recovery process has given him a more optimistic approach to life.
Steven told the Daily Mail: ‘My positive outlook, why I am the way I am today, the way I see the world… is because of that attack. At first it was like I’ve got scars on my face people are going to see me a little bit differently.
‘But now I see them as the reason I am who I am. It’s character building. It shows that I’ve won, and they lost.’
A Married At First Sight UK groom suffered a fractured cheekbone, shattered teeth and a broken nose after a brutal attack that left him scarred for life.
Steven Springett (pictured) saw his football career cut short in his early 20s after nine men savagely kicked and punched him over a past college dispute
Now, ahead of starring in the E4 series where he will be matched with a bride during Monday evening’s show, he said the recovery process has given him a more optimistic approach to life
Steven, who used to play for Ebbsfleet United but now works as an investment banking manager, was leaving a nightclub on his own when he was violently attacked by a group of men, who he previously had a minor disagreement with at college.
He recalls being surrounded and ‘turned into different punches’ as fists flew from all angles.
Listing his horrific injuries, he said: ‘I fractured my right cheekbone, I’ve damaged my teeth, I’ve got a few scars on my chin.
‘I shattered my nose, so I’ve still got a slight bend in there, but I had reconstructive surgery.’
He required dozens of stitches in his face to repair the damage in the immediate aftermath.
Now, a decade later, Steven has undergone multiple cosmetic surgeries to repair some of the physical impact on his face.
But it was the mental struggles that were more difficult to overcome.
He continued: ‘For the first six months I was in a horrible place, because I didn’t want to go out. I had to wear a face mask. When they started healing, they went purple, and I could see people looking at me thinking, urgh, put the mask back on.
Steven, who used to play for Ebbsfleet United but now works as an investment banking manager, was leaving a nightclub on his own when he was violently attacked by a group of men
At the time, Steven was so wracked with insecurity about his injuries he believes he would never have considered signing up to E4’s dating series Married At First Sight UK
‘But you can only hide behind a mask for so long. I had to change my profession… I was in my early 20s, and being a young adolescent male, it’s a horrible age.
‘It’s never a nice age, but that’s the age where you tend to find yourself, especially in pro football, but also in life – as a man.
‘The scars weren’t going to vanish – I’m not Harry Potter… I can’t just magic them away.
‘It was more like: ‘I can’t control how they are going to heal.’ And I’ve taken that into my life – I can only control what I can do, and if it’s out of my control, why stress about it?’
Steven believes he was targeted because of a minor feud that started due to his talent on the football pitch, recalling how one of the thugs had previously thrown forks at him across the college canteen. There was also a verbal altercation which started over a girl two years before the attack.
Steven admitted: ‘I said a few things and a few people laughed, which he obviously didn’t like. Then two years later he remembered my face.
‘It was a two-year vendetta – I must have cut him deep verbally for that to happen. But I put myself in that situation, when really, I shouldn’t have.’
One perpetrator was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
At the time, Steven was so wracked with insecurity about his injuries he believes he would never have considered signing up to E4’s dating series Married At First Sight UK – where a major part of the show will be his bride’s initial reaction to seeing him for the first time.
In Sunday night’s series opener, the tall and handsome finance worker’s good looks were complimented by fellow contestants at the grooms’ stag party.
The Geordie, who now lives in Essex, says part of his recovery has been his determination to be open about the incident and discuss it every year since it happened
Steven says office life is a ‘very different dynamic’ to his football career, but his adaptability shows he can learn and grow from the experience
But he admitted: ‘I never thought I would be on TV. I know with football… it can always happen here and there – cup runs and stuff.
‘But I think you normally see people on TV who look at the Beckhams of the world, and how beautifully he’s structured, and Idris Elba. You think they only look for a certain face.
‘So, I was like, ‘why would they want a face that looks like this?’ But, obviously, life’s not all about looks, right? It only gets you so far.
‘It’s all about your energy and personality that you can bring and the impact that you have on other people and influence.’
As a result of his experiences, Steven, now a father-of-two, believes he will be an asset in the often-lively dinner party segments – as he believes he may be able to be a calming presence for other couples.
He said: ‘I’d like to think I’ll have a big impact in this whole experiment.
‘With other couples, in terms of giving advice and vice versa, I will learn from it and grow from it. Because there are things that are not perfect, but we’ve all got flaws.’
Steven says office life is a ‘very different dynamic’ to his footballing career. But his ability to adapt to a completely new lifestyle demonstrates how he will learn and grow from the experiment.
The Geordie, who now lives in Essex, says part of his recovery has been his determination to be open about the incident and discuss it every year since it happened.
‘This is how I’ve turned it into a positive,’ he said. ‘I’m massive on the mental health side of things and people need to check in with themselves from time to time. You can talk about past traumas – we’ve all got them.
‘Just use that as a positive going forward – use that as your fuel, basically. I’m a confident speaker now.’
Stream Married At First Sight UK on Channel 4 now. A new episode will air on E4 tonight at 9pm
