TOWIE’S Ella: “No one realises how flirty Pete and I really are”
TOWIE star Ella Rae Wise comes clean about what’s going on between her and Lothario Pete Wicks – and how the show has boosted her confidence
As TV pairings go, will they/ won’t they couple Ella Wise and Pete Wicks have pretty much dominated the latest series of The Only Way Is Essex. The pair shared an off-screen drunken kiss, and after Pete insisted he wasn’t looking for a relationship, they agreed to be “flirty friends”. Yet TOWIE fans aren’t convinced things will remain purely platonic between them and neither, it seems, is Ella. The 20-year-old tells us, “When I said to the girls, ‘We’re quite flirty,’ I think they took it as a little thing; they didn’t realise how flirty we were. Even the show producers said, ‘We can sit there and watch you look at each other.’
He’s got really good chat.”
LADIES’ MAN
And while fans have debated the pair’s 12-year age gap, Ella says, “My mum says that him being older than me doesn’t matter, because my dad’s 10 years older than her. She and Pete get on really well; if we’re on the phone, she gets involved in our conversation – they have a little chinwag. I think she fancies him more than I do!”
Pete has made a name for himself as a ladies’ man since joining the ITV reality show. His stormy relationship with Megan McKenna hit the rocks in 2016, after she called him out for sexting “up to 20” other girls – something he openly admitted to – during an explosive beach scene while filming in Marbella.
He went on to date co-star Shelby Tribble, but the pair reportedly split amid claims Pete was messaging girls on Instagram.
But his most recent scandal involved his former best friend and fellow TOWIE veteran Chloe Sims. Last year, it emerged the pair had been sleeping together on and off for two years – despite repeatedly denying they were more than just friends. The couple no longer speak after Pete failed to commit to a relationship in dramatic scenes aired in the Christmas special last December.
And Ella admits that Pete’s tumultuous on-screen dating life has caused her concerns, saying, “Everyone’s really worried about me getting hurt, but I can turn my feelings on and off. If I’m getting an inkling of, ‘Hold on a minute, he’s going to do me over here,’ then I’ll take a step back. Pete hasn’t got the best track record when it comes to that and I’ve been hurt before, so I’m focusing on myself right now. But never say never – if it happens, it happens. I’m not going put pressure on the situation. If it’s meant to be, it’ll find its way.”
NEW CONFIDENCE
Former hairdresser Ella made her TOWIE debut in 2019 alongside co-stars Kelsey Stratford and Chloe Brockett, having previously worked in a salon since she was 14. And since joining the show, Ella – who fans have speculated may have had a boob job recently – reveals that being on camera has helped boost her confidence in social situations.
She says, “Before, if I’d go out, I’d be quite quiet and would hold back from being me because of my surroundings. But now I’m on the show, I’m more confident in myself.
“I remember when I was younger and going to Amy Childs, Joey Essex and Harry Derbidge’s shops and queuing to have my picture taken with them. Nowadays, when girls come up to me and ask for pictures, I think, ‘I was you once.’”
Despite venues being shut nationwide due to Covid restrictions, many of the show’s regular Essex haunts have been opened just for this series, with special measures put in place to ensure the safety of cast and crew.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
And with lockdown gradually easing over the coming weeks, Ella says she’s looking forward to restrictions lifting
fully so she can celebrate her birthday properly and reconnect with friends.
She adds, “I can’t wait to go to brunches to mingle with people. I’m looking forward to bumping into old faces that I haven’t seen in so long. It’ll be fun.
“Plus it’s my 21st birthday in July and I’m so excited. I was going to have a mini party to celebrate, but we’ll have to see how it goes.”
By Lisa Blake
‘My mum fancies Pete more than
I do!’