Gareth Gates has admitted he “did have feelings of love” for Katie Price during their secret 2002 romance, revealing the truth behind what was long dismissed as a brief fling. In a new Sky documentary, the former Pop Idol star, now 41, says Katie “mentioned marriage” within weeks of their relationship beginning.
Gareth Gates Opens Up About First Love
Speaking in the documentary Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, Gareth confirms the pair were close for several months. He says: “I certainly did have feelings of love for her. It was the first time I was feeling those things. I didn’t know what it was. But yes, I certainly did love her. To be in love? I think I was too young.” At the time, Gareth was 17 and a rising pop star, while Katie, then known as Jordan, was 23 and a glamour model.
Gareth also reveals that Katie “mentioned marriage and kind of spending the rest of her life with me” within “literally weeks” of them getting together. Reflecting now, Katie says: “It's mad, really, because he might have been one that got away, because what I see of him now, he is still a very, very handsome, good-looking man.”
Secret Meetings and a Sofa Bed Romance
The pair met after Katie’s flatmate Sally, who worked as a makeup artist on Pop Idol, passed on Katie’s number to Gareth. They arranged secret meetups, avoiding lavish dates to keep the relationship hidden. Katie, who was pregnant at the time with her son Harvey (from a brief relationship with Dwight Yorke), would wait in a car with blacked-out windows, and Gareth would sneak out of his London hotel.
Katie explains: “We would drive to Sally's place, she had a little flat in Hayes, she had a sofa bed. So she'd pull out the sofa bed, and he knew I was pregnant. He'd put his hand on the belly, and I used to say ‘does it put you off?’. It didn't put him off at all.”
Gareth Saw a Different Side of Katie
Gareth recalls being surprised by Katie’s real personality. He says: “The only thing I knew of her, she was a glamour model. So you sort of have this image and persona that you think of what they're going to be like. She was completely different. She was very soft. I sensed her vulnerability, like me, very kind, very very loving, and yeah, with me, she was anything but Jordan. I think she often wears this mask that she sort of hides behind. I don't think she lets too many people in. I got to know Katie.”
During those early weeks, Gareth would tell Katie he was singing for her when he looked down the camera on Pop Idol, which she found “cute and romantic”. He made the final on February 9, 2002, but lost to Will Young, though he later scored number one hits.
Brit Awards Scandal and Fallout
The pair had agreed to keep the relationship secret, but trouble began at the Brit Awards on February 20, 2002. A hidden camera spotted Katie leaving Gareth’s hotel room, and a story linking them was published. Gareth “felt sick” when he received the phone call about the photos. His management suggested Katie had planted the camera, which she and the photographer deny to this day.
Advised by management to let things die down, Gareth stopped messaging Katie as much, and the relationship fizzled out. When they bumped into each other at an Elle magazine party months later and were photographed again, rumours continued. Gareth had denied the romance several times on advice from his management. He says: “I shouldn’t have denied it but I was naive.”
Revenge Interview and Regrets
Fed up with Gareth’s denials, Katie gave an interview detailing their sex life. She says: “I was left in the lurch and I’m like, you hurt me, I’ll get you back by telling the truth like revenge.” Gareth says the “betrayal” hurt him and impacted him for a long time.
Looking back, Katie expresses regret: “That’s a moment I wish I never did. I wish I never took his virginity for his sake, and I just sometimes wish he could have saved it for someone that he loved and could have had a relationship with. When it come out, I wanted for him to then be like, 'Do you know what? Yeah, she's telling the truth, but it was still denied, kind of like he's better than me, and I'm nothing, and like he doesn't want to be associated with me.”
Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a four-part Sky Original series, will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW on 8 July.
