Binky Felstead has broken her silence on ‘cakegate’ as she admitted she was ‘completely at fault’ and ‘understands frustrations’.
The Made In Chelsea star came under fire last month when bakery owner Reshmi Bennett, 42, who owns luxury cake business Anges de Sucre in London, took to social media to claim Binky’s team had requested she make her son Wilder’s third birthday cake in exchange for an Instagram post.
The post went viral and as a result a second bakery owner, who runs Funfetti cake shop, called out Binky, claiming she was ghosted by the reality star after making her wedding and birthday cake for free back in 2021.
Now, Binky has spoken out about the ordeal for the first time as she discussed the toll it has taken on her and revealed she received death threats amid the backlash.
In an interview with The Sun, Binky said she does not regret asking for the cake from Reshmi to be gifted as it is standard industry practice.
But she admitted she is ‘completely at fault’ for the Funfetti situation as she had agreed to a social media roll out which she did not fulfil – and has since arranged payment for the wedding cake.
Binky Felstead has broken her silence on ‘cakegate’ as she admitted she was ‘completely at fault’ and ‘understands frustrations’
Binky said that while people ‘might not like gifting’, it is widely used in the influencer world and claimed some small businesses find the exposure extremely valuable.
‘That said, I do understand why people were frustrated,’ she continued.
‘While gifting is common in my industry, that doesn’t automatically make it fair, especially for small businesses where costs really matter.
‘Even if something is standard practice, it still needs to be handled thoughtfully.’
Off the back of the initial viral post, the owner of Funfetti London shared a lengthy comment detailing how Binky allegedly DMed her in 2021 asking for the baker to make her wedding and birthday cake in exchange for posts to her Instagram account and a mention in her Hello! magazine wedding spread.
The baker claimed she accepted and made both luxury cakes, with Binky promising to be in touch and tag her on social media – but claims she was later ghosted by the star despite months of trying to reach out.
She even claimed that when she asked Binky for £75 for travel to transport the cakes to the star’s home, she refused and said she wanted ‘everything inclusive’ as she ‘usually charges £2k for a story and £5k for a grid post’.
Commenting on Reshmi’s now-viral post, the baker said: ‘RESHMIIIIII I WANT TO SCREAM! I actually fell for Binky Felstead’s BS back in 2021…
‘She reached out to me on Instagram saying how beautiful my cakes were, then told me she was getting married and wanted both a wedding cake AND a birthday cake for her daughter.
‘At the time, my cake business was just a side hustle. I was shocked, flattered, and thinking this could be *the* opportunity to grow.
‘She took my number, called me straight away, loads of compliments, lots of “I love this one” and “that’s stunning”… we discussed designs and ideas. Deep down I knew she wanted a freebie in exchange for “exposure”… but I was younger and naive.’
The Made In Chelsea star came under fire last month when bakery owner Reshmi Bennett, 42, took to social media to claim Binky’s team had requested a free cake
The post went viral and as a result a second bakery owner called out Binky, claiming she was ghosted by the reality star after making her wedding (Pictured) and birthday cake
Exposure or payment – where should the line be?
She continued: ‘All I asked was for travel: £25 for the birthday cake and £50 for the wedding cake.
‘Her response? “I usually charge £2k for a story and £5k for a grid post… so I’d really want everything inclusive”.
‘Still… I thought about the promised exposure, mentions, even being featured in Hello magazine… so I agreed. I took an unpaid day off work, turned up to her house on a hot summer’s day with 9 layers of sponge and buttercream, and built a full wedding cake in her kitchen.
‘At one point I even wondered if the florist, decorators, caterers were all working for “exposure” too… (2021 me was too trusting).’
The baker concluded the post: ‘Before I left, she thanked me, said she loved it, promised tags and that her team would be in touch. Tumbleweed. I followed up in July… nothing. Again in October… nothing.
‘Finally got a reply: “Not sure how I missed this! I’ll get the Hello images and can post it too – send me your invoice!”
‘So I did… And guess what? Nadaaaaaaa. BIG lesson learned. Now whenever I hear her name I just cringe. Exposure doesn’t pay bills. Ever.’
It came after baker Reshmi shared a collection of screenshots showing exchanges between herself and Binky’s team where she was asked for a free bespoke birthday cake and offered ‘exposure’ as the only form of payment.
Reshmi has previously hit headlines over her fury at influencers requesting free cakes and her social media is full of posts from the baker making it clear she does not accept ‘exposure’ as payment.
The owner of Funfetti London shared a lengthy comment detailing how Binky allegedly DMed her in 2021 asking for the baker to make her wedding and birthday cake
Reshmi went as far as to make a spoof GoFundMe page asking for donations of £1.4million for the cake – in reference to celebrity Binky’s huge online follower count
But it seems her message was missed by Binky – whose personal assistant asked Reshmi to make a cake for her youngest son Wilder’s third birthday.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Reshmi shared a collection of screenshots showing Binky’s team requesting a ‘gifted’ yellow train cake with an ‘Instagram post collaboration’ in return.
Reshmi went as far as to make a spoof GoFundMe page asking for donations of £1.4million for the cake – in reference to celebrity Binky’s huge online follower count. She is also thought to have a net worth of £1.4million.
Initially when Reshmi shared the screenshots she had redacted Binky’s name from the emails – but ultimately named the star in a later post.
A representative for Binky told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘This was a standard contra enquiry from Binky’s PA, offering social media exposure in exchange for a birthday cake.
‘Binky was not directly involved in these email exchanges, and is currently away on a family holiday. We completely understand that this type of collaboration is not for everyone and respect the decision to decline.
‘It is, however, disappointing to see a private and friendly enquiry shared publicly, and contra deals like this are widely used within this industry and usually mutually beneficial.’
