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Pete Wicks was seen for the first time since his scandal-hit ex Maura Higgins jetted off to LA to escape the heat currently surrounding her after a boozy BRITS kiss with Danny Jones

Pete Wicks has been seen for the first time since his ex Maura Higgins kissed Danny Jones.

Love Island bombshell Maura announced she was leaving the country, amid the scandal currently engulfing her and McFly singer Danny, following their post-BRITS kiss. Former The Only Way Is Essex star Pete, 36, who was spotted smoking a cigarette in North London, was in a whirlwind romance with brunette bombshell Maura, 34, since last summer, but their relationship ended abruptly last month.

It has been claimed that Irish beauty Maura, who shot to fame on Love Island in 2019, had discovered Pete had been chatting to “loads” of other women online. Friends of Pete, who attended the BRITs with his Kiss FM co-host Olivia Attwood and avoided an awkward run-in with Maura who was sitting a few tables away, have previously denied the tar was texting other women while dating Maura.

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Since their split, of course, Maura and McFly guitarist Danny, 38, who is married to Georgia Horsley, with whom he shares son Cooper, 7, were caught on camera sharing a smooch at a BRIT Awards afterparty on March 1st. Neither star has addressed the kiss directly yet but according to a source, Danny is in ‘crisis talks’ with his wife.

And a source revealed that Pete is “pleased” to no longer be seeing ex Maura following the scandal, confirming that the pair just weren’t meant to be. “This sort of attention is exactly what Pete doesn’t want,” a source close to Pete told OK! magazine when discussing Maura’s drama. “He’s seen this sort of media circus happen when he was on TOWIE and it’s not the sort of relationship he wants. It’s a shame because it will probably bring his guard back up and he just wants to find someone he can genuinely love.”

Pete’s split from Maura is said to also have come after the couple had a series of ‘rows’. The duo were, in addition, forced to spend time apart, while Pete was locked into a strict training regime for Strictly with his pro partner, Jowita Przystał and Maura jetted Down Under to take part in I’m A Celebrity…. Once reunited, however, the pair seemed loved up and were spotted on more than one cosy date night in the capital.

Following their split, Pete seemed to take a swipe at his ex while chatting with his pal Sam Thompson on their Staying Relevant podcast. Asked, “What would I banish in the world?” Pete brutally replied: “Erm, Love Island.” Sam, laughing, then remarked: “That’s so aggressive.”

Explaining himself in more detail, Pete said: “It takes over everything, that’s all anyone talks about for f**king three months of the year. It’s very difficult to have small talk with people when that’s their reference because I don’t know anything about it”. Sam then said: “Let’s be honest I can’t imagine you hanging out with people who say, ‘ When’s the nearest episode of Love Island? ‘”. Pete then said: “No but even when I walk through the office… just no”.

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Brockett hit the headlines last year when it was revealed she threw a drink at co-star Roman Hackett.

Chloe, 24, was suspended from the ITVBe reality show after she allegedly threw three glasses at him during a brutal argument while filming for the ITVBe reality series. Chloe teased a return to the Essex-based reality show but later quit the series and announced her decision on Instagram.

Now, Chloe has spoken out about her exit and revealed just how little the TV stars are paid for taking part in the show. With the stars ‘ extravagant lifestyles – jetting off to destinations like Bali and Thailand for luxurious breaks with the series and driving around in flashy cars – its expected the reality stars earn a hefty sum from filming. However, Chloe has revealed that isn’t the case.

“It was my whole life. You get paid per day, max three days a week. It started on £90, then £250 and then £400.

” They film for 22 weeks a year. That’s £22, 000 a year. I was getting minimum wage to be abused, “she has told The Sun, adding she would get ‘ torn apart ‘ for how she looks and speaks and she also received shocking death threats.

ITV and TOWIE production company Lime Pictures have been contacted for comment.

Elsewhere in the interview, Chloe discussed her fiery row with Roman, 22, who is in a relationship with Love Island star Matilda Draper.

Chloe, who had a brief romance with Roman before their fallout, is now dating ex Love Islander Jack Fincham, who was recently jailed over a dog attack briefly before he was released on bail. Chloe has alleged producers ‘ repeatedly told ‘ her to throw a drink at Roman and said the show ‘ set her up’.

She claimed:” TOWIE set me up. The producers repeatedly told me to chuck a drink at him. When it all went wrong, they turned on me as though they had not had any part of it”.

A TOWIE spokesman told The Sun:” The welfare of the cast and crew is of primary importance.

“Any concern over behaviour is immediately ­investigated and dealt with in line with our robust protocols.

” Safety on set is central to our production and cast members would never be instructed to do anything they disagreed with or indeed be asked to ­discuss any false narratives. “

However, Chloe claimed she has no ill feeling towards Roman. It comes after TOWIE star Roman told the Mirror in an exclusive chat in 2023 that he had no bad feelings towards Chloe but can’t be civil with her. He said at the time:” Listen I don’t hate Brockett, it’s not one of those things. It’s like, yeah we had an argument and all that other stuff, but once she done the other stuff it’s like for me, I’m thinking, ‘ Yeah I done you dirty, I mugged you off in a sense so you can be angry but… ‘ “

The reality star continued:” I would’ve forgiven her if it weren’t for what happened. Where that’s happened it’s like… we’re just… we can’t be civil really. I still… she’s a nice girl, she’s a nice girl but she has her fiery side and when that fiery side comes out… f**king hell. I don’t hate her. I haven’t spoke to her since we had an argument and I think if I was to see her I’d chat to her but is it worth it? No I don’t think so. “

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Chloe Brockett has revealed that she had a near-fatal experience with dermal fillers, after attempting to get her face fillers dissolved and suffering a severe allergic reaction. The reality star joined TOWIE aged 18 and immediately started getting cosmetic procedures after ‘ hating ‘ the way she looked on the show, she says.

“When I saw my first TOWIE episode I hated how I looked. The very next day I went to a clinic and had filler in my cheeks, chin and nose. I have had so much Botox I can’t do a sad face any more”, Chloe, now 24, told The Sun on Sunday. Attempting to take away some of her filler, things got even worse when Chloe suffered a reaction to the dissolving agent.

She continued: “I tried to have some filler dissolved, but had such a bad allergic reaction that I could have died”. While Chloe ended up with no lasting damage, she is now unable to have the fillers dissolved, “My lips started swelling. Luckily I was with a doctor at a private ­hospital and he put me on a special drip. So whatever filler is in my face now will have to stay”.

Now, Chloe has left TOWIE after being suspended mid-series in 2023 for throwing three glasses at her co-star Roman Hackett during a heated argument while filming. Following the suspension, she revealed in February 2024 that she would be walking away from the show entirely.

Despite taking full responsibility for throwing glass during the exchange, Chloe claims that TOWIE producers ‘ set me up ‘ and repeatedly told her to throw a drink at Roman during the scene. Blasting that the production crew ‘ only wanted ratings ‘ for the reality show, Chloe claims she didn’t want to throw a drink at Roman but ‘ did what she was told ‘ before things got too heated and she ended up throwing the glass.

It’s not been plain sailing off-screen for Chloe in recent years either, as her boyfriend Jack Fincham has been embroiled in a court case for having a dangerously out of control dog. The former Love Island star was sentenced to six weeks behind bars earlier this year after his Cane Corso dog bit two people, causing an injury to one individual.

However, hours after his sentencing, Jack was released from prison pending an appeal. Chloe has been seen sticking by Jack throughout the ordeal.

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