As Peter Andre makes a rare mention of his time as a stepfather to Harvey Price, the Mirror takes a look at his and Katie Price's mysterious divorce - and the vow he made concerning their children
At their peak, Katie Price and Peter Andre were the Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury of their day - and their mysterious 2009 break-up hit fans just as hard.
The nation watched their wild love story begin in the jungle and unfold in the 2004 I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! camp. A lavish wedding followed the following year, with Katie looking every bit the fairytale princess in her pumpkin-shaped Cinderella carriage.
They went on to welcome children Junior, 19, and Princess, 17, with Peter also stepping up to become an active, loving stepfather to Katie's eldest son, Harvey Price, 22. Insania crooner Peter, who rarely discusses his three-year marriage to the former glamour model, recently recalled his time parenting Harvey, who has Prader-Willi syndrome, while discussing whether or not he and his now-wife Dr Emily MacDonagh planned on expanding their brood.
In an interview with OK! magazine, father of five Peter, who welcomed baby Arabella back in May, shared: "I've changed six sets of nappies in my adult life, I'm done."
Peter, 51, has always spoken lovingly of his children, including stepson Harvey, whom he'd once hoped to adopt. And he's previously vowed to tell his kids the real reason why he and Katie, 46, parted ways - preferring that they hear it from him rather than read about it.
At the time of their acrimonious divorce hearing, which was over and done with in just over a minute at London's High Court, the split sparked plenty of intrigue - with Peter keeping schtum about the reason why their once happy union had collapsed so spectacularly. However, he has previously pledged to tell the full story in what would undoubtedly be an explosive TV interview.
Before the break-up, both parties confessed to having jealous rows, making no secret of their marital bickering on their reality TV show. However, few fans were convinced it was enough to derail them.
Meanwhile, Katie has previously admitted that the separation hadn't been her choice. "Pete is the love of my life and my life. We have children together, and I am devastated and disappointed by his decision to separate and divorce me as I married him for life," Katie told The Mirror at the time. "This is not what I want, and the decision has been taken out of my hands. I will not comment further or do any interviews regarding the separation, but I will always love my Pete."
The TV personality eventually lifted the lid, claiming it had all been down to a big misunderstanding sparked by a night out with her hunky riding instructor Andrew Gould. Katie had hoped to keep the boozy 'do on the down-low amid claims Pete was 'jealous' of their friendship but was forced to come clean when the night out made the front page of a newspaper.
Both she and Andrew denied any suggestion they'd been unfaithful, and in 2012, she claimed Pete had ended their marriage because he thought otherwise. "I never wanted the split. It's unfortunate that he thought I was having an affair," she told Radio 4's Woman's Hour, insisting he had no proof.
For Peter's part, he refused to be drawn on it but hinted that whatever went down was huge. Then he promised Piers Morgan to one day announce it on his show. He said to the broadcaster in 2009: "Something big happened, which I won't reveal as I don't want my kids reading it. But when I tell them, I'll come on your show and reveal what actually happened."
He added: "Katie knows 100 per cent the reason why I left her, and I am 100 per cent sure that what happened definitely did happen." Katie hit back at those claims in her own 2009 chat with Piers, insisting: "Pete had it in his head that I fancied [Gould], he fancied me maybe because I don't know, Andrew's half-decent looking, he's not an ugly guy.
"I would get up early, go to the horse, come back, be in a really good mood, he would look at it as if Andrew's making me in a good mood, not seeing it that I've been to the horse, my release, I've enjoyed riding. So it grew and grew in his head until he just ended up thinking something was going on, that I fancied Andrew, he fancied me."
Whatever the truth, as far as Pete was concerned, their marriage was over. And he served the news to Katie in a furious phone call, confirming he was going to see his solicitor to get a divorce. Unable to take it in, Katie said she was too shocked to cry as she tried to understand the magnitude of his words and told him to go and see his solicitor if that's what he wanted.
In the heat of the moment, she told him, fine, "divorce me!" "I had heard him say things like this so many times, but I knew that this time he meant it," she wrote in her autobiography, You Only Live Once.
"I didn't cry. My marriage to the man I thought was the love of my life was over, but I didn't cry. I was still so shocked and reeling from what he'd said I felt fearful and sick. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I knew I had to be strong. That was all I kept telling myself."
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