Geordie Shore’s Gaz Beadle and Aaron Chalmers say they ‘feel lucky’ that they avoided being abused by trolls like Love Island stars
GEORDIE Shore badboys Aaron Chalmers and Gaz Beadle shot to fame with endless boozy parties and steamy romps in the famous MTV house.
But they both claim they're lucky to have avoided the harsh abuse and extreme scrutiny levelled at the new breed of reality stars on Love Island.
Just a year after leaving the show Aaron, 32, has reinvented himself as a successful professional MMA fighter with a record of five wins and one loss, while Gaz, 31, is earning good money investing in property away from the spotlight two years after quitting the show.
The pals have revisited their reality days for new show Geordie OGs which looks at how they, and favourites Holly Hagan and Marnie Simpson, have moved on from Geordie Shore.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, Gaz said: "It's mad when you go on a TV show now. They've got like Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat and everything, when we did the first two series of Geordie Shore, Twitter wasn't even out, it was only Facebook. I had like 1,000 friends from school.
Aaron, who called current reality TV shows a "minefield", chipped in: "Now you come out of Love Island with 2million followers and you're getting abuse from every different direction - Twitter, Instagram, whereas as Gaz says, we didn't have all of that when we started."
In the latest series of Love Island Molly-Mae Hague was abused by fans and coined 'Money-Mae' amid claims she was only with boyfriend Tommy Fury to earn cash after the show.
While Amy Hart and Danny Williams' social media accounts received death threats after viewers disagreed with their onscreen antics.
Gaz believes Geordie Shore's X-rated reputation might have helped limit the amount of abuse its cast received.
He said: "The thing is Geordie Shore isn't a really press story show. You'd never watch an episode of Geordie Shore and then see it on the front page on The Sun. It was never like that, maybe because it was so nuts."
Aaron added: "I think we had it quite easy to be honest."
Gaz continued: "I think we've been really lucky with Geordie Shore because I think it's so relatable - some people getting p***ed, that there wasn't that much negativity towards you. Like I said, it is totally totally different now compared to when we first started."
The lads haven't been immune from cruel comments though, with Aaron's transition to top level mixed martial arts raising a few eyebrows among both fans of the sport and some fighters, while Gaz's girlfriend Emma has been targeted by nasty trolls while pregnant.
Aaron explained how the cowardly bullies always hide behind their computer screens.
He said: "It's always keyboard warriors, like always. Even to anyone like Gaz, there's no way any one of them will come up to you in the streets.
"What they'll do is they'll see you in the street or in the shops and they'll tweet you later on saying that they've seen you and that you're a d**k. That just sums them up to a T."
Initially Gary was reluctant to return in front of the cameras, with fatherhood his priority.
But after his son Chester reached six months old he was keen to show people another side of him away from raucous nights in the club.
He explained: "When he [Chester] started getting a little bit older, I just thought, well I heard who else was doing it and the filming schedule wasn't too hectic, and you could work it around like Chester and stuff, and I just thought why not?
"I think I just want people to see kind of what we've became and how generally how well we've done from Geordie Shore, how much we've grown up and just see us in normal life."
The star is far removed from the man who used to go out five to six times a week downing shots for fun.
He claims to have only had one night out this year and is living a "normal life".
"Everyone has a perception of me is just that I'm that kid from Geordie Shore who used to get p***ed," said the star. "But it will be a bit of a shock when people just see us in normal life. I think this show will be a lot more relatable then something like Geordie Shore. We are doing normal things."
In June Gaz revealed he and Emma are expecting another baby, and he feels much more comfortable becoming a dad for a second time.
He said: "It's weird the second. The first one you're pregnant, you're getting the baby room ready, everyone's coming around, you've got baby shower to plan, everyone's so excited for that first baby and you have your second and it's like I don't know, I feel like it's not the same, but you've done it all before.
"Whereas with Chester, I'd only held one new born baby in my life and that was my sister's for like five seconds. I didn't know what a muslin was, didn't know about nappies, but this time round, I've kind of got no nerves, I've done it all before."
Meanwhile Aaron is in a relationship with girlfriend Talia Oatway, living in the north east with her and her young daughter.
The tattooed star admits Gaz's second baby announcement has increased pressure on him to have a child of his own.
He laughed: "Now my misses has gone to Boots and all this. It looks like I've been roped into it.
"If it happens, then amazing, if it doesn't and it happens next year, then I'm happy either way, so I think if it was under my misses terms then it'll be one on the horizon very soon."
While he credits the show for helping him get off benefits, Gaz admits he never watched it when he starred, nor does he now.
When asked what he makes of the current line-up, which still includes Chloe Ferry and Holly, he said: "I couldn't tell you."
"I just think there is literally nothing they can do that we haven't done - that's the only battle that the cast have got. They can't do anything new, do you know what I mean?
"We've travelled the world in Geordie Shore, we've done every argument, fight scenario you could imagine in that house."
Aaron added: "It's hard for the producers to try and think of something that we haven't done."
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Gaz continued: "I'm pleased it's still going, but like I'm pleased I was on it at the start doing everything for the first time, not having to try and beat us."
The duo have lots to look forward to with Aaron fighting again in November and eyeing a big money contract in the New Year, while Gaz is keen to keep investing and building his portfolio.
Neither has any regrets from their time tearing up the Toon, and each remembers their time with nostalgic fondness.
Gaz reminisced: "We had not a penny to our name's when we started, then now ten years later you're looking at yourself and think how the hell could I have achieved that.
"So hopefully some of that comes across in the show and you see what we're doing with our money and how to invest in it, and different business stuff we're doing and whether its property or this or that. I think it'll be a bit of a surprise to everyone to see that we're not as thick as they think [laughs]."
Aaron added: "We're only where we are because we work hard. Nothing has been really handed to us."
Geordie OGs airs on Wednesday 14th August at 9pm on MTV.
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