Pete Wicks has been seen for the first time since his ex-girlfriend Maura Higgins kissed McFly's Danny Jones at a BRIT Awards afterparty. The former TOWIE star, 36, was spotted smoking a cigarette in North London as news broke that Maura was leaving the country.
Maura, 34, announced she was fleeing the UK amid the scandal surrounding her and Danny, who is married to Georgia Horsley. Pete and Maura had been in a whirlwind romance since last summer, but their relationship ended abruptly last month, reportedly after Maura discovered Pete had been chatting to 'loads' of other women online. Friends of Pete have denied the claims.
Danny and Maura were caught on camera sharing a kiss at the BRITs afterparty on 1 March. Neither has addressed the kiss publicly, but a source said Danny is in 'crisis talks' with his wife. Maura broke her silence on Instagram, saying she was flying from Heathrow to Los Angeles.
A source close to Pete told OK! magazine that he is 'pleased' to no longer be with Maura, adding: 'This sort of attention is exactly what Pete doesn't want. He's seen this sort of media circus happen when he was on TOWIE and it's not the sort of relationship he wants.'
Pete's split from Maura is said to have followed a series of rows, and the couple were forced apart by his Strictly Come Dancing training and her appearance on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Since the split, Pete appeared to take a swipe at Maura on his Staying Relevant podcast, saying he would banish 'Love Island' from the world.
Pete explained: 'It takes over everything, that's all anyone talks about for three months of the year. It's very difficult to have small talk with people when that's their reference because I don't know anything about it.'
