Olivia Attwood's romance with Pete Wicks was 'unexpected'
Olivia Attwood has opened up about her budding romance with fellow former reality TV star Pete Wicks - admitting the new relationship was "unexpected" and happened "very quickly".
Olivia Attwood's romance with Pete Wicks was "unexpected" and happened "very quickly".
The Love Island star, 35, struck up a new relationship with the former The Only Way Is Essex castmember shortly after her split from her footballer husband Bradley Dack earlier this year. The pair were friends and colleagues - hosting KISS radio show The Sunday Roast together - before they became involved romantically and Olivia has no regrets about embarking on a new love affair with Pete.
She told The Times newspaper: "It was unexpected, we went from platonic to non-platonic very quickly. He’s extremely intelligent and compassionate and patient, all the things I desperately needed but didn’t know I needed ...
"Is something amazing happening while I’m still processing something awful? Yes. People are telling me to be single, to go on dates. But if I shut things down with Pete I’d only be dating people to find the connection I have with him."
Olivia also revealed she's been suffering since her split from Bradley and she's still going through the process of mourning the loss of her marriage.
She said: "I’m up and down. It’s a weird grieving thing, a huge shift. You thought your life was going to be one thing and it’s very quickly changed ...
"It’s a heavy age. I thought there’d be a stereotypical home life alongside the career, probably a child. But thank God there wasn’t.
"Suppose I hadn’t had the prenup, or had a baby? That would be so much worse. So everything’s played out for the best.
However, Olivia is still hopeful about starting a family in the future but she accepts it might not happen, she added: "[I would life children with] the right person. But I could also see it not being part of my story. I’m at peace with that.
"You can’t have everything. So many parts of my life have worked out so much better than I could ever imagine."
It comes after Olivia admitted she lived in a "grey area" with Bradley.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan magazine, Olivia explained: "When you love someone, you're happy to live in the grey area."
Olivia ultimately decided to walk away after being told that Bradley had been unfaithful.
The reality star recalled: "That day, everything suddenly lined up. There was nowhere left for him to hide. As soon as I knew it had happened to me, I couldn’t stay. The only person I would be cheating is myself."
Despite this, Olivia admits that she struggled to walk away from their romance. She explained: "What happened didn’t break my heart - I broke my own heart by leaving, because the easiest thing to do would’ve been to stay.
"Actually pulling the rug [from under our feet] and sticking to it is the hardest thing. It was f****** brutal. It's very easy for people to sit on their high horse and go, 'Oh my God, you stayed with someone that cheated.' But it’s way more complex than that.'"
