Meet Craig and Kirsten Bruun

Craig and Kirsten Bruun — British citizens, directors of Jobs4Couples Ltd and authors of Behind Closed Doors
Craig & Kirsten Bruun — twenty years as a live-in domestic couple in the UK

We are Craig and Kirsten Bruun — British citizens originally from South Africa, who came to the UK and built a twenty-year career working as a live-in domestic couple in Britain’s private households.

In 2005 we answered a small advertisement in a local newspaper for a live-in cook, housekeeper, and maintenance couple at Allington Castle in Kent — a 13th-century Grade I listed castle and the private residence of Sir Robert Worcester.

We later spent nearly three years working for John Caudwell, British billionaire philanthropist and founder of Phones 4U, at his mansion in Mayfair. After working in a couple of other households, we returned to Allington Castle as Estate Manager and Head Housekeeper.

Those twenty years taught us a great deal.

We now advocate for better working conditions for all live-in domestic staff. Having seen the industry from both sides of the employer-employee relationship, we believe strongly that informed staff make better staff — and that better-informed couples build more lasting, respectful working relationships with their principals.

We have written the full story in our memoir Behind Closed Doors: The Unfiltered Truth About Twenty Years as a Live-in Domestic Couple in the UK. Five jobs. Twenty years. The real version. Read it here →

Our Story in Brief

Period What Happened
2003 – 2005 Arrived in the UK from South Africa. Kirsten worked at a factory in Erith, then as a kitchen assistant at a private school in Sidcup. Craig worked as a driver’s mate for Coca-Cola in Sidcup, then sold pest-control contracts across South London.
Apr 2005 – Oct 2008 Our first live-in domestic couple role — Allington Castle, Kent, working for Sir Robert Worcester. Duties included housekeeping, cooking, butler work, alpaca husbandry, lime pointing, pool upkeep, and maintaining eight cottages on the estate.
Dec 2008 – Aug 2012 Founded and ran 1manandvan.co.uk — a man and van business based in Maidstone and Sevenoaks, Kent. Completed over 2,400 jobs including piano moves, student removals, office moves, and eBay deliveries.
Sep 2012 – Apr 2015 Live-in domestic couple at John Caudwell’s mansion in Mayfair, London. Housekeeping across multiple London properties, chauffeuring, brass and chandelier polishing, and assisting at charity ballroom events for up to 160 guests.
May – Jul 2015 Live-in domestic couple at Ascott House, Buckinghamshire — a formal titled household and National Trust property. Craig performed daily silver service and houseman duties under the Head Butler. Kirsten cooked for the household and guests.
Jul 2015 – Jul 2016 Live-in domestic couple at a private informal household with an on-site barn wedding venue. Cooking, housekeeping, school runs, dog walking, and helping manage the wedding business.
Jul 2016 – Jan 2024 Returned to Allington Castle as Estate Manager (Craig) and Head Housekeeper (Kirsten).
Jan 2024 Founded Jobs4Couples Ltd (Companies House 14664460) and launched live-in-jobs.co.uk — the UK’s dedicated jobs board for live-in domestic couple roles.
2024 Launched jobs-in-sevenoaks.co.uk and grew the UK Private Household Staff Facebook community to thousands of members.
2025 Published Behind Closed Doors: The Unfiltered Truth About Twenty Years as a Live-in Domestic Couple in the UK — our memoir of twenty years in private service.

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