Olivia Attwood has opened up about her romance with former TOWIE co-star Pete Wicks, telling Loose Women viewers she thinks she has "softened" him.
Appearing on the show alongside Jane Moore, Christine Lampard and Katie Piper, the 35-year-old shared her take on friendships that slowly blossom into a romance.
Friends to lovers
Olivia, 35, and Pete, 37, initially tried to keep their relationship out of the spotlight, but were soon spotted sharing cosy moments together, from kissing and cuddling to romantic dates.
The reality stars eventually made their relationship Instagram official during a sun-soaked trip to Ibiza in July, seemingly putting an end to the friends-to-lovers curse. Talking about their journey, the Loose Women panel agreed that Pete has changed for the better, with Jane noting that he smiles much more now.
What Olivia said
Olivia said: "People keep writing in the comments that they've never seen him smile before but he does smile a lot now. I think I've softened him a little bit."
In a recent podcast interview for Off The Vine, Olivia shared how Pete expressed his feelings shortly after her marriage split. Speaking to anchor Kaitlyn Bristowe, she said: "After I split from my ex we started spending more time together and he’s [Pete] now confessed to me that he started to feel romantically towards me, whenever that started for him.
"He shared that with me quite soon after that split." She added: "I kept him [Pete] at arms length for a hot minute but I knew straight away we had a connection that I hadn’t been aware of."
Going public
Sharing how she feels things have gone, the Loose Women star said: "To be honest, I don’t think there’s a right way to do this. People really love to get on their high horse and be like, You should be single after that’. For me, I love love. I feel like we are only here one time, we only get one go around."
Pete and Olivia officially stepped out together for the first time on the red carpet at this month’s National Television Awards. The pair looked loved-up as they shared a kiss for photographers outside London’s O2 Arena, marking a very public moment after months of keeping their romance under wraps.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV1.
