Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks pictured kissing after pair’s friendship became ‘a passionate romance’
LOVED-UP Pete Wicks and Olivia Attwood kiss in a packed hotel bar — just weeks after she split from her footballer husband.
The couple, snapped in London’s Soho on Friday, are said to have begun their fling earlier this month.
ITV star Olivia, 34, separated from Bradley Dack in January.
Olivia and Pete have seen their friendship “blossom into an unexpected romance”, pals said last night.
The pair had insisted they were just friends but their public kiss in front of cheering pals proved they are a couple.
Loose Women favourite Olivia, 34, screamed, punched the air and beamed in delight afterwards.
Read more on Olivia Attwood
An onlooker snapped their snog at rooftop bar Flute in London’s Soho, where they partied for 3½ hours on Friday night.
The venue is where Towie star Pete, 37, was spotted kissing Love Island’s Maura Higgins in 2024.
Last night a pal of Pete and Olivia confirmed: “They have been spending a lot of time together and an unexpected romance has blossomed from friendship.”
Olivia only announced her marriage split from footballer Bradley Dack, 32, in January.
She and Pete, who co-host Sunday Roast: The Podcast, are said to have begun their fling at the Brit Awards on February 28.
The friend added: “Their passionate romance only started in the last few weeks, since she has split from Bradley, there was no overlap.
“Olivia’s close friends know about this new development and are pleased Pete has put a smile back on her face.
“He has been a shoulder to cry on and there for Olivia during this really tough time.
“She has been in the depths of a really horrible break-up and Pete has helped her through it.
“They have got closer and Pete has held a torch for Olivia for a really long time.
“She is hurting and vulnerable, and he was in the right place at the right time.”
The friend added: “They get on really well and are taking it slow, there is no label at the moment.”
Since her marriage separation, speculation has mounted that Olivia has moved on with lothario Pete.
The pair have known each other for around nine years and both starred in Towie in 2019.
Last August they partied with friends on a yacht off Ibiza.
Three weeks ago — when they were still thought to be just friends — we told how they shared a 3am pizza in a Manchester hotel.
Proof of their relationship came on Friday in Flute at the five-star Broadwick Soho hotel.
The onlooker said: “Olivia and Pete looked like honeymooners as they kissed in front of revellers.”
The couple met with pals and sank glasses of wine and vodka drinks from 8.30pm until midnight.
Around 10pm, they stood at their table and openly snogged as their friends cheered.
Olivia broke off to scream in delight and punch the air in celebration.
An onlooker said: “It was a party and Pete and Olivia were the main attraction.
“If you didn’t know, you might have assumed it was an intimate wedding or engagement celebration.
“You would never have guessed Olivia had just endured a painful marriage split.
“She was beaming in delight and couldn’t have looked happier.
“And at one point she rose in front of her friends, took Pete by the hand, and they kissed passionately as a group of ten to twelve people cheered them on.
“Olivia and Pete didn’t seem to mind who saw them.
“The noise and spectacle they were making caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and look.”
Olivia looked stunning in a black top and skinny jeans, with Pete in a smart jacket.
She stopped and chatted to other revellers in the dimly-lit, discreet venue, even asking other drinkers if they felt she looked OK.
A source said: “She was very sweet and so obviously madly in love with Pete.
“She was anxious that she looked good for her man. They had a blissful night.
“Friends came and went from their table and when they were alone they were very intense, whispering and pausing conversation to kiss.
“And they were just as tactile when in a bigger group.
“Whatever hardships she has been through, it was very clear that Olivia was ecstatically happy with him next to her at their table.”
Our snaps of the loved-up pair are a hammer blow to her estranged hubby Bradley, who plays for League Two Gillingham.
We told how he blocked Pete on Instagram weeks after the marriage split was revealed.
At last month’s Brits in Manchester, Olivia and Pete were seen chatting and whispering despite being seated apart.
She was on the ITV table while he was with Kiss FM.
That night Olivia told The Sun on Sunday: “If you are going to be single anywhere this’d be the place. Is Harry Styles single?”
She and Pete later left an after-party together and took a taxi to the Edwardian Manchester hotel.
At 3am Pete was seen carrying two pizza boxes through the lobby before getting into a lift.
Hours later the couple emerged together, with both wearing baseball caps, and were driven off at around 12.30pm.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony Pete told their podcast: “What always happens at these events is Liv and I gravitate towards each other and basically just stick together, don’t we?”
Olivia replied: “Because I feel like we both have the same objective. And talk to as few people . . .” Pete then added: “As possible.”
Pete then said: “Although we are not going big this year, are we?”, to which Olivia countered: “What do you mean?” Pete continued: “You have a flight the next day.”
Olivia replied: “I know, you need to keep me lucid enough that I don’t get stopped at immigration.”
Pete said: “The danger being that I jump on the flight with you in what I am wearing from the Brits.”
The Sun on Sunday revealed in January that Olivia had split from Dack – following what sources said was a “breach of trust” on his part.
In 2017, she went on Love Island, later saying it was revenge on Dack for cheating on her at the time.
They reunited, and she joined Towie in 2019, on which Pete was already a regular. He went on to dance on Strictly in 2024.
Our revelation of Olivia and Pete’s romance will fan the flames between her and arch rival Maura.
In August 2024, at the same Broadwick Soho Hotel terrace, Pete and Maura had confirmed their romance — after rumours swirled at that year’s TV Baftas.
Days after splitting from Pete last year, Maura took a pop at him on Valentine’s Day.
Asked where he was as she left a restaurant, she quipped: “Dunno, probably cheating.”
Pete has bedded a host of TV personalities including Jess Wright, Megan McKenna and Megan Barton-Hanson.
His and Olivia’s people were contacted for comment.
