Pete Wicks has spoken about his apprehension in publicly confirming his relationship with girlfriend Olivia Attwood, admitting he feared he might "embarrass" her with a "loved-up post." The 37-year-old former The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star officially confirmed their romance earlier this month via a series of Instagram photos following a trip to Ibiza.
Wicks shared on the podcast "Staying Relevant" that he and Attwood had discussed going public, but a specific clip from her own podcast ultimately prompted him to share the photos. "The thought process was – what would Liv like? I'd seen the clip on her podcast, we'd spoken about it and I thought 'ah f**k it' you know let's go and do it," he explained.
He added that his primary concern was ensuring he didn't cause Attwood any embarrassment. "All I really cared about was that I didn't embarrass her," Wicks stated. "Just there we go, now it's out it's fine, we're good."
The couple, who have been friends for a long time, were frequently seen together after Attwood's split from her partner Bradley Dack at the beginning of the year. Attwood had previously joked that their relationship was the "worst kept secret."
Wicks described their Ibiza trip as "magical," noting that he had missed Attwood after they were apart for two and a half weeks while she was filming abroad. "It was wonderful to see her... we had a fabulous time," he said, recounting activities like "backflipping off boats, we went for lovely dinners, we went to clubs, we drank a lot."
Sam Thompson, Wicks's co-host and close friend, expressed his happiness for the couple, stating that he and many of their fans were "very happy" for Wicks. Thompson acknowledged he had known about their relationship "for a while."
Attwood herself seemed to approve of Wicks's public announcement, commenting with teary-eyed emojis on a clip of the podcast and humorously adding, "That’s what happens when you have two and a half weeks no back flipping."
Prior to Wicks's social media declaration, Attwood had indicated that she would not be the one to post first, suggesting she was "protecting herself" while assessing the relationship. Wicks's post, captioned "I guess someone has to go first… IBIZA," marked the first time he had ever publicly shared a relationship online.