Megan McKenna has revealed that a terrifying home invasion by masked men wielding machetes and baseball bats two years ago drove her to leave England and settle permanently in Germany. The former The Only Way Is Essex star, now 33, shared the harrowing details on the Great Company with Jamie Laing podcast, explaining that the incident left her too frightened to live alone in the UK while her husband, footballer Oliver Burke, is based in Germany.
Robbery Shook Her to the Core
McKenna, who rose to fame on MTV's Ex on the Beach and later won The X Factor: Celebrity, recounted how the break-in occurred after she and Burke returned from holiday. Burke, 29, who plays for Union Berlin and previously SV Werder Bremen, had to travel back to Germany the very next day, leaving McKenna alone in their home. She fell asleep around 11pm and woke to the house 'shaking'.
'I was such a disorientated mess. I was like, “What?” And then I just knew that it was happening to me, and I was like, “Oh my God”,' she recalled. 'I get goose pimples now thinking about it. They were inside my house, but I lock my bedroom door every night because I always worry about something happening to me when I’m on my own.'
Intruders Hacked Through Wall
The intruders, three masked men, hacked a hole through her bedroom wall using a baseball bat, gaining access through a fake wall connecting to her dressing room. 'My mirror has come off my wall, and they’re hacking a hole through my wall with a baseball bat,' she said. 'They’re three masked men with machetes and baseball bats, and they managed to hack a hole in my wall because it was a fake wall going onto my dressing room, linked to my bedroom.'
Terrified that the intruders would kill her dog, McKenna called the police, who urged her not to speak to the men. But she felt she had no choice. 'I said, “If I don’t go and talk to them and ask them what they want, they’re going to come in and kill my dog.” I went over to them. I was naked.'
Targeted Robbery and Aftermath
One of the balaclava-clad men took her jewellery, and McKenna cut her foot during the ordeal, leaving 'blood everywhere'. She believes the robbery was 'obviously targeted' and that the intruders were after her jewellery. The entire incident lasted seven minutes, which she described as 'the longest seven minutes I’ve ever experienced in my entire life'.
McKenna, who had previously spoken about moving to Germany in September 2024 before giving birth to her son, said the incident 'changes you forever'. She added: 'I was like, “I’m not safe in my own home.”'
Legal Proceedings and Ongoing Fear
The reality star explained that she did not speak about the incident earlier because the perpetrators were caught and stood trial. However, she could not face testifying as she was undergoing IVF treatment to conceive her son Landon. 'The police were amazing at the time, but I was then going through IVF to have [her son] Landon, and they wanted me to go on trial. And I just said to them, like, I actually can’t physically do that. Go through it. They got caught, and then they went on trial, and then a year later, they just got let out. They’re just roaming the roads.'
McKenna and Burke welcomed their son Landon in October 2024 and married in June 2025. She now lives full-time in Germany, a decision directly influenced by the traumatic break-in. The full interview airs on Wednesday on the Great Company with Jamie Laing podcast.
