We were I’m A Celeb’s only REAL romance – it was a crazy place to find love…I’m sad we don’t speak now, says Katie Price
IT was a match made in reality TV heaven - one a boob job-obsessed glamour model and the other a chiselled popstar planning a comeback.
Somehow, despite the sweltering temperatures, endless bug bites and rumbling bellies from measly rice and bean portions, Katie Price and Peter Andre managed to fall in love on I’m a Celebrity.
Their romance certainly turned up the heat in the Aussie jungle back in 2004, when around 11 million viewers tuned into the ITV show to watch them flirt, wrestle and plan their future together.
Two decades have passed since the former Page 3 favourite, then known as Jordan, became the Aussie singer Pete’s Mysterious Girl - and a lot has happened in that time.
One whirlwind romance, two children and a £1million pink Cinderella-themed wedding later - and the pair were granted a quickie divorce in just 42 seconds back in 2009.
Since going their separate ways, they have endured a number of public spats but both have found love again - Peter, most successfully, as he's been married to NHS doctor Emily MacDonagh since 2015.
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Meanwhile, Katie, who's currently partnered with Married At First Sight star JJ Slater, has had more than her fair share of heartache - divorcing two more times after seven more engagements, discovering at least one ex was a love rat and weathering several cheating scandals.
Now in an exclusive interview with The Sun, she reveals the tragic state of affairs between reality TV’s ultimate couple and speaks about why her I'm A Celebrity relationship outlasted all others.
“It was quite an amazing journey at the time, ” she tells us. “It was a very crazy place to meet someone and have this love story.
“No one's ever been anywhere near close to me and Pete in there, even when other people have tried [to find love] it just hasn't happened. There’s only one Pete and Kate.
I'll tell you what is sad about all of it is, we fell in love in the jungle, got married, had kids, had an amazing life but like 20 years on and we don't even speak.
Katie Price
“But I'll tell you what is sad about all of it - we fell in love in the jungle, got married, had kids, had an amazing life but like 20 years on and we don't even speak, it's just crazy what happens with time.”
Katie and Pete were young, fame-hungry stars when they met on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2004 - but were in drastically different places in their careers.
The glamour model claims to have been “at the top of my game” when she signed on for a reported £400,000 fee.
She had just been named Loaded magazine’s ‘Cover Girl of the Decade’ and featured regularly in Lads mags including FHM, Nuts and Zoo.
“I must have been popular, number one, for them to book me. I was at the height of my career,” Katie says.
“I was popular and definitely didn’t go in there to revamp any career because as far as I was aware, I was the top-notch then.”
Meanwhile, Pete was hoping to relaunch himself, having reached the peak of his fame eight years earlier in 1996, when he released his huge hit Mysterious Girl.
When the track originally came out, it reached number two in the UK charts but after a re-release in 2004 - following I’m A Celebrity - it topped the charts.
Katie and Pete enjoyed a fiery will-they-won’t-they romance in the jungle and seemed to be on the brink of getting frisky down under on live TV.
So did anything sexual happen away from cameras, which were unconvincingly camouflaged as boulders, or perhaps when they forgot they were being recorded?
“No,” Katie barks. “I have a family to respect. I would never do anything like that. I’m not that kind of girl, I wouldn't do that.
“I wouldn't do that in my own life by choice, let alone on a TV show. I haven't been brought up that way.”
It was a love story and we were in love but towards the end, other people got involved in our relationships
Katie Price
Despite this, Pete admitted on the show during a conversation with Katie that they had were “getting closer and closer to it” and “within a millimetre” of doing the deed at one point.
The attraction was instant between the busty model and six-pack clad singer, with the Lads mags favourite.
She admitted fancying him as soon as she saw a picture of Pete before flying to Australia - but was already engaged to partner Scott Sullivan, the son of a multimillionaire.
As she got closer to Pete she told him Scott "wasn't the one" for her. The couple's onscreen chemistry made him threaten to "punch [Pete’s] lights out" and spelled the end of the engagement.
Scott would go on to date a bevy of beauties including Jodie Marsh, Bianca Gascoigne and Made In Chelsea stars Caggie Dunlop before marrying Funda Onal.
While other I’m A Celebrity contestants have found love in the jungle, no others have forged such a lasting romance or such success off the back of it, quite like Pete and Katie.
For her the reason why is clear.
She tells us: “We had good management, who dictated what we did.
“It was a love story and we were in love but towards the end, other people got involved in our relationship. That’s all I can say about it.”
Katie says her ex-husband benefitted immensely from their relationship, as it earned him a fortune in modelling and TV contracts.
In October, she told The Louis Theroux Podcast: “I was already established. He’d met me and it was his lucky day.
“We always had separate contracts. There’s no way I’m splitting half and half, no thanks.”
Famously, the couple had a pink fairytale-themed wedding in 2005.
Katie was brought to the venue - Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle, in Hampshire - in a Cinderella-style carriage drawn by four horses.
Interestingly, she claims to have taken the lion’s share of the money from their photoshoot.
“We got paid just under £1million,” she told the podcast. “I always got more than Pete.
“My contracts were different. If I did a photo shoot with him, we’d have separate contracts because I was worth more.”
Four years after tying the knot, Katie and Peter split up in 2009 and were granted a divorce in a hearing that lasted less than a minute.
She has since claimed that it was because he wrongly suspected she was cheating on him with her riding instructor, Andrew Gould.
Pete, on the other hand, has remained tightlipped, explaining: “Something big happened, which I won't reveal as I don't want my kids reading it.
I'm a changed person in myself and I'm at peace with myself, I just want to be at peace with everyone. Life is too short
Katie Price
“Katie knows 100 percent the reason why I left her and I am 100 percent sure that what happened definitely did happen."
A lot has changed for them both since they first met on the ITV show - including both having moved on with new partners.
Pete is married to Taunton-born Emily, 35, who is 16 years his junior and Katie is now with former MAFS star JJ, 32, who is 14 years her junior.
Katie tells us she hopes to be on better terms with Pete in the future - even if it means just talking about their kids, Junior 19, and Princess, 17.
She says: “I'm a changed person in myself and I'm at peace with myself, I just want to be at peace with everyone. Life is too short.
“When you've gone through what I've gone through and lost people through the years, you realise life is too short.
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“The past is the past. Obviously, with some people, I just wouldn't give them the time of day but it would be nice to speak to Pete about the kids sometimes.
“I'm sure if I bump into him it would be pleasant. I've got no problem with him and Emily at all. But everyone has busy lives - he’s got his life, I've got mine but there are no hard feelings my side at all.”
I'm A Celebrity 2024
i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year..
Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.
Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal.
Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities.
Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle.
GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers.
Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs, Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live.
Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice.
Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle, after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice, along with bandmate Tom Fletcher.
Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband. It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past.
Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer. He told The Late Late Show in 2021: "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache."
Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard. Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year.
Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity, and he's ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth."