Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks confirmed their romantic relationship in July 2026 after years of friendship, with Wicks making the first public move on Instagram during a joint trip to Ibiza. The couple, who co-host KISS radio’s The Sunday Roast, transitioned from platonic friends to partners following Attwood’s split from footballer Bradley Dack earlier that year .
The story of Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks is one of British reality television’s most closely followed recent romances. Both figures built careers through shows like Love Island and The Only Way Is Essex, and their decision to go public marked a significant shift in their long-standing personal and professional relationship.
Who Are Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks?
Olivia Attwood, 35, rose to national prominence on Love Island in 2017. She later joined The Only Way Is Essex as a regular cast member from 2019 to 2021 and became a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women in 2023 . Attwood also hosts the podcast Olivia’s House and has fronted ITV programmes including The Price of Perfection and Bad Boyfriends .
Pete Wicks, 37, is best known for starring in The Only Way Is Essex from 2015 until his departure in 2022 . He has since built a career as a podcaster and author, co-hosting Staying Relevant with close friend Sam Thompson and launching his own podcast Pete Wicks’ Man Made, which won two awards at the British Podcast Awards .
Their professional partnership began before their romance. In March 2025, KISS announced that Attwood and Wicks would co-host a weekend show called The Sunday Roast, airing Sundays from 2pm to 5pm . The programme mixes music with informal conversation and became a regular fixture for KISS audiences .
The Split from Bradley Dack
Attwood’s relationship with footballer Bradley Dack ended in January 2026 after more than a decade together. The couple had married in a 2023 ceremony filmed for ITV’s Olivia Marries Her Match, but it later emerged that the wedding was never legally registered because the venue did not possess a marriage licence at the time .
In statements on her podcast and Instagram, Attwood said she decided to leave after being told of another alleged incident involving Dack and another woman. She wrote that she had “stood by Brad for the last ten years during which he lied & cheated on me multiple times” . Attwood confirmed she had begun dating again, stating: “Yes I’m dating. Yes I’m getting up every single day even when I have cried all night to film the shows I love filming, record my podcast, record my radio show” .Quick Bio: Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks
Notes: Height and net worth figures are based on media reports and are not officially verified. Education details for Wicks could not be confirmed through authoritative sources. Social media follower counts are approximate and subject to change.
From Friendship to Romance
Attwood and Wicks had been friends for roughly a decade before their relationship turned romantic. In an interview with The Times, Attwood described the shift as unexpected: “It was unexpected, we went from platonic to non-platonic very quickly. He’s extremely intelligent and compassionate and patient, all the things I desperately needed but didn’t know I needed” .
Wicks has spoken with similar candour about the relationship. In an interview with the Mirror, he said: “Liv calls me out on my s**t. I’m not the easiest person in the world, and no one has ever been able to handle me as well as Liv does” . He added that he is “in love for the first time at 37” and described their connection as “an unbelievable, magical little life together” .
The couple’s professional dynamic on The Sunday Roast provided a foundation for their personal relationship. Their on-air banter, which KISS Content Director Rebecca Frank described as “a brilliant partnership,” translated naturally into a romantic connection that fans had begun to speculate about months before confirmation .
Going Instagram Official
Wicks made the relationship public first. On 17 July 2026, he shared a carousel of black-and-white photographs from a trip to Ibiza, including images of the pair cuddling on a boat and relaxing on a beach . His caption read: “I guess someone has to go first”, a reference to the fact that he had posted before Attwood .
Attwood commented on the post with characteristic humour: “oh so you DO listen to my podcast” . The comment referenced a recent episode of Olivia’s House in which she had discussed her reluctance to be the first to “hard launch” a relationship on social media . Sam Thompson, Wicks’ close friend and podcast co-host, wrote: “Never thought I’d see the day YOU hard launch!! Couldn’t be happier for you brother” .
Attwood followed with her own Instagram post in August 2026, sharing loved-up photographs from the same Ibiza holiday. She joked that she was posting because she “misses him” while working away, rather than because fans had pressured her into it . The staggered approach to going public reflected a deliberate effort to manage their privacy while acknowledging the significant public interest in their relationship.
Red Carpet Debut at the NTAs
In September 2026, the couple made their first official red carpet appearance together at the National Television Awards at London’s O2 Arena . They shared a kiss on the red carpet and later presented the Daytime award on stage, trading playful banter that referenced Attwood’s role on Loose Women .
Wicks opened the segment by saying, “Everyone knows Pete Wicks loves a loose woman,” to which Attwood replied with mock sternness before they announced the nominees . This Morning ultimately won the category, and host Ben Shephard acknowledged the couple from the stage, saying he loved seeing them “hard-launch their romance” .
The NTAs appearance marked a turning point in how the couple presented themselves publicly. Unlike many reality television relationships that unfold entirely on camera, Attwood and Wicks have maintained a degree of separation between their professional obligations and their private life together. Their red carpet debut was a controlled, deliberate step rather than an uncontrolled media spectacle.
What Remains Private
Despite their willingness to share certain moments, both have emphasised the importance of boundaries. Wicks told the Mirror: “Everyone has relationships but any time we go to dinner, it becomes this big thing. We’re just having a date night like normal people” . He acknowledged that being in the public eye means accepting scrutiny but added, “sometimes people forget that we’re just normal people” .
Attwood has similarly reflected on the challenge of navigating public interest. She told the Daily Mail: “We’re in the infancy of navigating it. I understand the interest. For a lot of people it’s a crossover of two people that they’ve followed in different ways for a long time” . She added that they are working out how to “keep enough back like that’s just for us” .
Speculation about the relationship’s future has been persistent, with fans and media asking about marriage and children. Wicks addressed this directly: “We’re getting questions like ‘when are you getting married?’ You wouldn’t normally ask that to anyone that’s a new couple but Liv and I have been in the game long enough to just kind of brush it off. We’re happy, we’re good. That’s kind of all that matters” .
A Relationship Built on Shared Experience
What distinguishes the Attwood and Wicks relationship from many celebrity pairings is the depth of their prior friendship and their parallel careers in the same industry. Both understand the demands of reality television, podcasting, and public scrutiny. Both have navigated high-profile breakups in the public eye. And both have built second acts in their careers that moved beyond the shows that made them famous.
Attwood’s split from Dack was painful and public, involving allegations of infidelity and the revelation that her wedding was never legally binding. Wicks, who had been single for much of his adult life, described finding love at 37 as something he had not expected. Their relationship emerged from a foundation of mutual respect and genuine friendship, which both have identified as central to its strength.
The couple continues to co-host The Sunday Roast on KISS and maintain separate professional commitments. Attwood remains a Loose Women panellist and podcast host, while Wicks balances podcasting, authorship, and television appearances. Their decision to keep certain aspects of their life together private suggests an awareness that not everything needs to be shared, even when the audience is large and the interest is genuine.
Q: When did Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks make their relationship public?
They became Instagram official in July 2026, when Wicks posted photos from their Ibiza trip with the caption “I guess someone has to go first” . They made their red carpet debut as a couple at the National Television Awards in September 2026 .
Q: How did their relationship begin?
They had been friends for about a decade before things turned romantic. Attwood has said Wicks confessed his feelings shortly after her split from Bradley Dack, and that she initially kept him “at arm’s length” before realising the connection was mutual . She described the shift as “unexpected” and said they went “from platonic to non-platonic very quickly” .
Q: What has Pete Wicks said about the relationship?
Wicks has said he is “in love for the first time at 37” and that Attwood “calls me out on my s**t,” adding that “no one has ever been able to handle me as well as Liv does” . He has also addressed speculation about marriage, saying they are “living in the present” and enjoying being a new couple .
Q: Were Olivia Attwood and Bradley Dack legally married?
No. Their 2023 wedding at London’s Bvlgari Hotel was televised for ITV’s Olivia Marries Her Match, but the marriage was never legally registered. The venue did not hold a marriage licence at the time, and the legal paperwork was never completed afterwards . Attwood has since split from Dack and is now with Wicks.
