Megan Barton Hanson spent secret night with Pete Wicks at strip club behind Wes Nelson’s back

MEGAN Barton Hanson and Towie hunk Pete Wicks enjoyed a secret night at a London strip club behind boyfriend Wes Nelson's back.

The Love Island star, 24, spent hours flirting with Pete at Reign nightclub before they partied until the early hours together at Stringfellows.

Pete and Megan met for the first time earlier that evening at the Animal Hero Awards which took place on September 6.

Reality stars such as Mario Falcone and Ferne McCann attended the event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel but Megan’s boyfriend Wes was nowhere to be seen.

Megan made it clear the night she met Pete, who split from Towie co-star Shelby Tribble last month, that her relationship with Wes wasn't going well.

She admitted they were "barely together" and things were "difficult" when asked about her romance on the red carpet.

And insiders say Megan and Pete couldn’t resist spending all their time together that night as they boozed until 4:30am.

A source said: “Megan and Pete hit it off from the moment they first started talking – they both seemed keen to get to know each other better.

“At first Pete was very cautious and made it clear he wasn’t interested due to her being in a relationship with Wes.

“But as the night progressed they’d both had a lot to drink and were having fun – going from an award ceremony to a club and then strip bar.

“The pair even went ‘missing’ for a long period of time from the rest of the group that included Ferne, Mario and also Jon Clark.

“Pete had to go home ahead of a radio appearance that same morning so left around 4:30am.

“Megan loves Wes so has insisted to close friends that nothing happened between her and Pete.

"But their late-night liaison has become the talk of the Towie and Love Island casts, with many believing Megan’s relationship with Wes won't last.”

A spokesman for Megan and Wes declined to comment.

But the couple have put on a united front since September – with Wes supporting Megan at the launch of her Pretty Little Thing collection last week.

Speaking at the event she said that her and Wes had been feeling the "pressure" since leaving the villa.

She said: "There’s so much pressure on all us couples. When you are in the villa there’s no stress. You are just there with the person you are seeing and it’s amazing."