Pete Wicks makes heartbreaking admission amid Maura Higgins romance

ok.co.uk:

Before slipping into his pink PVC trousers for Strictly Come Dancing, Pete Wicks was known for his 'bad boy' image from The Only Way Is Essex.

However, he's shown a softer side on the dance floor, telling OK! in an exclusive chat, "I'm an emotional peach! " Fame first came to Pete, 36 - whose romance with Maura Higgins has been sizzling post her I'm A Celebrity stint - as a former TOWIE heartthrob, but lately, he's peeled back layers of his persona, particularly through his explosive memoir 'Never Enough' and his heartfelt docuseries, 'Pete Wicks: For Dogs' Sake'. "I think people probably have a misconception of who they think I am, based on some of the things I've done previously," he confides. "Over the years, I probably became a bit of a caricature of myself and had that 'bad boy' type image, which is not really who I was.

It's certainly not who I am now." With a new crowd of admirers cheering him to the semi-finals of Strictly with Jowita Przystal as his partner, Pete feels like he's struck gold. "I do have new fans since Strictly and the reaction has been amazing - I never expected it," he says. "People have been lovely.

I am getting older now so it does change. It's been about 10 years that I've been doing TV and people change.The person I am now is not who I was 10 years ago or who I'm going to be in 10 years' time.