I'm A Celebrity: Truth behind Pete Wicks, Jowita Przytal and Maura Higgins 'love triangle'

TOWIE's Pete Wicks has found himself at the centre of many romance rumours in recent times, with fans speculating on alleged liaisons with his pal Maura Higgins and his Strictly Come Dancing partner, Jowita Przytal.

Unconfirmed whispers have been circulating for some time about the 36-year-old TV personality and Maura, with the pair spotted sharing a kiss on a couple of occasions. Meanwhile, Pete and Jowita have grown close during their time on Strictly, both inside and outside of rehearsals, with their friendship also fuelling the fires of the rumour mill.

With Maura, 34, opening up about a "special someone" in her life down in the I'm A Celeb camp, interest in the trio has once again reignited, with some believing there could be a love triangle going on behind the scenes...

Dating denial

Pete and Jowita have been sharing plenty of quality time together outside the Strictly rehearsal studios - and their cosy bond has set tongues wagging. The pair recently visited the Dog's Trust in Basildon, where Jowita beamed from ear to ear as she took photos with some adorable puppies. Taking to social media, Jowita wrote: "Last week, I had the pleasure to visit @dogstrust_basildon. Thank you, team, for a warm welcome, and thank you, @p_wicks01, for taking me there on one of the most beautiful mornings."

She continued: "What you’re doing for those little ones is absolutely remarkable, you’re my heroes. Like @p_wicks01 says everyone deserves a second chance." In the first pic, Jowita looked pleased as punch as she cuddled up with a pup, while Pete sat beside her on the floor giving the dog an ear rub.

In a recent Instagram post, Pete heaped praise on his dance partner, gushing: "I've been struggling to think of what to say and it's not often I'm lost for words. I am so overwhelmed and blessed to have had your support over the past three months, I never expected it and I have never taken it for granted. The belief you guys have had in me has been incredible and at times I'm not sure I've deserved it.

"I've said it before, but no amount of words will ever be able to repay what you have given me. People talk about the 'journey', and let me tell you, this isn't my journey at all. It's our journey. Jowita, you and I have all been on this wild ride, and I wouldn't have it any other way!".

Although some took this 'journey' to be of a romantic nature, last month Pete shut down such rumours, telling Lorraine Kelly: "We've said from day one that we're really good friends, but they just want to do what they want to do."

Maura's ultimatum

Now, one of Pete's pals has claimed that he has "put a stop" to his "romantic liaison" with Jowita in a bid to win Maura back. According to this source, the pair have been casually dating for the past five months, and Pete is said to be "completely smitten".

However, Maura reportedly gave Pete a stern ultimatum - make a commitment to her or let their relationship go. This ultimately influenced Pete to "slow things down" with Jowita, the source told the Daily Mail. The unnamed friend claimed: "Before Maura entered the jungle, Pete wanted to make their relationship exclusive, but Maura, aware of Pete's reputation and his close bond with Jowita, decided to slow things down. She gave him an ultimatum: either commit to her or let it go.

"So she went off a single woman. Since then, Pete has gone all-in, openly expressing his feelings to anyone who'll listen. Although he continues to dance with Jowita weekly, their off-the-floor relationship isn’t as close as it once was."

Jungle confession

During Monday's (December 2) episode of I'm A Celeb, Maura opened up to her fellow campmates about her relationship status. When dancer Oti Mabuse quizzed her about whether or not she was single, Maura cryptically replied, "I am, but I was seeing someone before I came in, but I’m not in a relationship."

Reverend Richard Coles then asked Maura whether or not the romance was 'exclusive' before apologising for putting her on the spot. Considering the question, Maura replied: “I dunno.” DJ Dean McCullough, who has since been evicted from camp, then asked her: “Is it someone we would know?”

With a mischievous look in her eye, Maura replied, "Yeah..." before responding in the affirmative when Dean also asked her whether she missed her mystery man.

Maura's mum breaks silence

During an appearance on Lorraine, Maura's mum Sharon Higgins kept schtum when asked whether her daughter was romantically linked with Pete, only clarifying that the pair were 'great friends'.

Sharon revealed: "I can only say what she has told me, she did tell me that they were great friends and that she's single and she's dating. So I don't know much after that, like, she didn't really expand on that. So I don't know what's happening. Maura and Pete were always friends but like the way Maura is, she at the moment - she was concentrating on herself."

She went on to add: "I don't know whether she expected to go on the dating scene again so soon after her last relationship, so I think at the minute. The way she is with friends anyway, she's supportive. She's very supportive, and they support her. So at the end of the day, look it, she's dating, and she's entitled to date."

Pride of Britain smooch

The Mirror revealed that Pete and Maura were spotted locking lips at this year's Pride of Britain afterparty, where they got affectionate in the Red Bar of London's Grosvenor House Hotel. Here, Maura was seen planting a tender kiss on Pete's nose, followed by a kiss on the lips. Their cosy display didn't go unnoticed by fellow guests.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, an attendee revealed how they'd overheard Pete chatting about his single life at the event's afterparty, despite the affectionate display. The guest said: "Pete did look cosy with Maura at points, but he wasn't shy about telling people he was single. He was proudly declaring himself single on the red carpet during interviews and even made a joke of not being in a relationship in the bar after the awards."

This likely came as no surprise to fans, who've been following rumours following rumours of their romance for some time. Indeed, this isn't the first Pride of Britain ceremony where the celeb pair appeared looking notably affectionate. At the 2023 ceremony, the pair could be seen appearing to have a deep and meaningful conversation, with their intimate gazes seemingly pointing toward something stronger than friendship.

Summer of whispers

Back in August, Pete and Maura were reportedly seen kissing during an al fresco lunch at London's swish Broadwick Soho Hotel, paying no mind to the fashionable dining spot's very public location.

Pete reportedly arrived around one hour after Maura, who was accompanied by pals. An eyewitness told The Sun: "After they'd sat there for a while, Maura went in for a long kiss with Pete. It wasn't the kind of kiss you'd give a friend, it was very passionate."

This insider added that the stars could barely peel their eyes away from each other, with Pete 'sat with his arm around Maura all evening'. They observed: "They were all over each other. They looked totally in love and weren't trying to hide it from anyone."

After the Soho snaps emerged, top body language expert Judi James remarked that the pair appeared to be 'equally smitten', adding that their adoring behaviour towards each other was quite rare indeed in celeb-land.

Judi told the Mirror: "When two of the most famous and gorgeous-looking reality TV stars roll into a relationship like Maura and Pete seem to be doing here, the body language can often look lop-sided or over-congruent, with one looking keener than the other or both just hoping to double-up on the headlines via some showmance before breaking up publicly to get a gig on the next dating show or even re-hook up on a show like 'Ex on the Beach'."

She continued: "Pete and Maura's signals here, though, do suggest they might be equally smitten, especially as their eye contact and eye attention appear balanced in terms of intense gazing at the other's face. This is a rare behaviour for reality stars or any celeb couple as one will often be gazing adoringly while the other appears distracted by cameras or even a mirror."

Poking fun at gossip

Addressing the whir of the gossip mill with a bit of cheeky humour, Maura was seen sporting a t-shirt emblazoned with the widely discussed Soho photograph alongside a slogan which read: "We can't be friends'.

Maura wore the top while cheering on Pete and his friend Sam Thompson as they recorded their Staying Relevant podcast live at Hammersmith Apollo. Sharing a snap of herself wearing the shirt via Instagram Story, Maura wrote: "Hilarious night...U smashed it." [sic]

Dodging questions

During a chat with his TOWIE alum Olivia Attwood on her So Wrong It's Right series, Pete found himself under interrogation when his connection with Maura. Getting straight to the point, Olivia, 33, bluntly stated: "Your dating life. Maura Higgins." Pete replied: "Me and Maura have known each other for a long time.

Continuing to press, Olivia said: "You've had a kiss, we've seen it!", to which Pete insisted: "No, you haven't seen it." Not letting him wriggle out of her questions that easily, Olivia push: "We've seen a picture of it," adding: "Next thing I need to know, are you and your dance partner romantically involved?"

Bursting into peals of laughter, Pete exclaimed: "My God!" to which determined Olivia responded: "You don't get awards by not asking the questions!" Seamlessly dodging the question once more, Pete divulged: "One of the biggest problems is my b*******." He continued: "Well, I'm having to wear like Spanx ... because otherwise, Shirley will end up with a couple of black eyes."

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