Gareth Gates has spoken out about former fling Katie Price, after losing his virginity to the glamour model in 2002 when she was six months pregnant and he was 17.
The Pop Idol hitmaker, now 41, spoke to New Magazine about his shock when he learnt at the time that Katie had leaked details of their romance to the press.
He admitted that his biggest fear was his parents reading intimate details of his life, saying: ‘That was a lot for a kid who wasn’t even an adult to take’.
His comments come in the wake of Katie’s surprise marriage to businessman Lee Andrews, with Gareth saying: ‘She’s just Katie, she’s made a career out of talking about people’s relationships. Once you accept that, it is what it is.’
Gareth was just 17 when he had a brief fling with Katie in the early Noughties, fresh off his appearance on Pop Idol, and during their fling, Katie was six months pregnant with her eldest son, Harvey, now 23, while Gareth was a virgin.
Gareth Gates has spoken out about former fling Katie Price, after losing his virginity to the glamour model in 2002 when she was six months pregnant and he was 17 (Gareth pictured at the height of his Pop Idol fame in February 2002)
Katie was six months pregnant with her eldest son, Harvey, now 23, while Gareth was a virgin when they had their fling (Katie pictured while pregnant with Harvey in March 2002)
The Pop Idol star initially denied the romance as he feared at the time that it would jeopardise his career – something he stood by in his interview (pictured in October)
The Pop Idol star initially denied the romance as he feared at the time that it would jeopardise his career – something he stood by in his interview.
He said: ‘I was shocked and at the time I actually didn’t believe it was from her. I thought the press had made it up. But then it turned out it actually was her who sold the story – that was a lot for a kid who wasn’t even an adult to take.’
On his privacy, Gareth went on: ‘I would never talk about intimate details that two people have had together. Out of the respect for them and out of respect for myself…
‘That’s just not something I’d do. I didn’t want my parents reading every intimate detail about my life in the papers. They didn’t need to see that, nobody does. I’m not the sort of person who seeks publicity.’
He then later admitted the truth during a 2014 appearance on The Big Reunion, and shared: ‘I denied the whole Jordan thing because I was 17, I didn’t want my family to find out about my sex life.
‘If I hadn’t of lied it wouldn’t have been a big deal, my family, friends and fans wouldn’t have felt as let down, I guess.’
He added: ‘For me, I was very young. I had to say I don’t want to have a long-term relationship at this age, so she sold the story, and I said it was all lies.
‘The only thing I thought in my head to do was to say it never happened. I didn’t tell anyone, my friends or family, so they all backed me.’
His comments come in the wake of Katie’s surprise marriage to businessman Lee Andrews (Katie and Lee pictured)
It comes after Katie reflected on their brief fling as she appeared on Piers Morgan’s chat show, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, in 2009.
She told the broadcaster: ‘When I look at it now, it’s gross, disgusting. It’s terrible – I was still young, I was pregnant, I didn’t have the dad about, and I still wanted to be loved. It was wrong when I look back.’
However, in another dig at Gareth, she also took credit for launching his pop career in her 2021 book Harvey and Me.
Looking back at some of the photoshoots she took part in during her pregnancy, she wrote: ‘I should have thought, “Katie, put it away. You’re pregnant – no one wants you.”
‘But then again, hello Gareth Gates! He wanted a bit of Pricey – even when I was six months pregnant. He denied losing his virginity to me at first, but once he finally admitted it, wasn’t that when his career started? Anyway, swiftly moving on…’
It comes after Katie reflected on their brief fling as she appeared on Piers Morgan’s chat show, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, in 2009 (Katie pictured on the show)
Meanwhile, in her other book titled Being Jordan, Katie revealed that most of their hookups took place on a sofa at a friend’s house, in a bid to keep their fling out of the spotlight.
She also claimed that they booked a hotel together to attend the BRITs in London.
During their fling, Katie and Gareth both denied being romantically involved. However, she was left blindsided when the singer broke up with her via text, leaving her feeling ‘gutted’.
She said: ‘I really didn’t need any more rejections in my life. I was with him at an important time in his life, and then suddenly he dumped me.
‘He always said that once he got his record deal, then we might be able to be open about our relationship… But when the deal came through, our relationship was over.’
