Gareth Gates recalls the furore over losing his virginity to pregnant Katie Price aged 17 and says he ‘didn’t want his parents reading intimate details of his sex life’ after she sold their story
Gareth Gates has spoken out about his ex Katie Price after he lost his virginity to a glamor model in 2002 when she was six months pregnant and Katie was 17.
The Pop Idol hitmaker, now 41, told New Magazine of his shock when he discovered Katie had leaked details of their romance to the press.
He admitted his biggest fear was his parents reading intimate details of his life, saying: ‘This was too much for a child who wasn’t even an adult.’
His comments come after Katie’s surprise marriage to businessman Lee Andrews, with Gareth saying: ‘That’s just Katie, she’s made a career out of talking about people’s relationships. Once you accept that, it happens.’
Gareth was just 17 when he had a brief fling with Katie in the early Noughties, she had just started appearing on Pop Idol, and at the time of 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 his ex Katie Price after he lost his virginity to a glamor 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 at the time they eloped (Photo taken while Katie was pregnant with Harvey in March 2002)
The Pop Idol star initially ruled out the romance for fear it would jeopardize her career – she stuck to it in her interview (pictured in October)
The Pop Idol star initially rejected the romance because she feared it would jeopardize her career; He stuck to it in his interview.
He said: ‘I was shocked and at the time I didn’t really believe it was coming from him. I thought the press made this up. But then it turned out that he was actually the one selling the story; ‘That was a lot for a child who wasn’t even an adult.’
Regarding his privacy, Gareth continued: ‘I never talk about the intimate details of two people living together. Out of respect for them and respect for myself…
‘This is not something I would do. I didn’t want my parents to read every private detail about my life in the newspapers. They didn’t need to see this, no one does. I’m not the kind of person who seeks publicity.’
She later came clean when she appeared on The Big Reunion in 2014, sharing: ‘I completely denied the Jordan thing because I was 17, I didn’t want my family to find out about my sex life.
‘If I hadn’t lied it wouldn’t have been a big problem, I don’t think my family, friends and fans would have been so disappointed.’
He added: ‘I was too young for me. I had to say that I didn’t want a long term relationship at this age, so he sold the story and I told him it was all lies.
‘All I could think of doing in my mind was to say it never happened. ‘I didn’t tell anyone, my friends or family, so they all supported me.’
His comments come after Katie’s surprise marriage to businessman Lee Andrews (Katie and Lee pictured)
This comes after Katie reflected on their brief fling during an appearance on Piers Morgan’s chat show Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2009.
He told the broadcaster: ‘When I look at it now it’s disgusting, disgusting. Terrible; I was still young, I was pregnant, my father wasn’t around, and I still wanted to be loved. Looking back, it was wrong.’
But in another dig at Gareth, he also deserved credit for launching his pop career with his 2021 book Harvey and Me.
Looking back at some of the photoshoots she participated in during her pregnancy, she wrote: ”Katie, put that aside. “I should have thought, ‘You’re pregnant, no one wants you.'”
‘But still, hello Gareth Gates! Even when I was six months pregnant she wanted some Pricey. At first she denied losing her virginity to me, but when she finally admitted it, wasn’t that when her career took off? Anyway, we are moving forward quickly…’
It comes after Katie reflected on their brief fling during an appearance on Piers Morgan’s chat show Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2009 (Katie pictured on the show)
Meanwhile, Katie revealed in her other book, Being Jordan, that most of their hookups took place on the couch at a friend’s house in order to keep their flings out of the spotlight.
He also claimed they booked a hotel together to attend the BRITs in London.
During their escape, Katie and Gareth denied being romantically involved. But she was caught off guard when the singer broke up with her via text, leaving her feeling ‘gutted’.
She said: ‘I really didn’t need any more rejection in my life. I was with him for an important period of his life, but then he suddenly left me.
‘He always said we could be open about our relationship when he got the record deal… But once the deal went through, our relationship ended.’
