For years, Pete Wicks has said he loves dogs more than humans, and when the Mirror catches up with him, he tells us his dream is to run away and live in the country with lots of dogs – and Olivia Attwood.
The former TOWIE star hard-launched his romance with his Kiss FM co-host over the summer, and has said he is in love for the first time at 37. So could there be wedding bells, even children, in the future?
“Oh, I get asked all the time, ‘When are you going to propose?’ But we’re in a new relationship and enjoying every part of what that means. In the future, who knows what’s going to happen? We’re living in the present, and it’s really great.
“It’s mad – we’re so different in many ways, but so similar in others. She makes me a better person. She’s just great. I’m her number one fan, and vice versa.”
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He says Olivia, 35, keeps him on the straight and narrow, telling us, “Liv calls me out on my s**t. I’m not the easiest person in the world, and no one has ever been able to handle me as well as Liv does.
“She is fiercely independent, as am I, but we never clash. We still have our independence, we work hard, but we also have this unbelievable, magical little life together that we come home to.
“We laugh for hours, and it helps that I find her insanely attractive. I feel blessed to have that thing everyone says they want. I’ve been single for the majority of my life because I was OK with being single, but with Liv it’s different.”
Asked if it makes him reflect on why past relationships didn’t work out, Pete says he’d never dream of using his new relationship to speak negatively of any ex. He says, “It’s different. I’ve never felt this way before, with anyone. It’s about me being very happy and in love, now.”
Famously, the other big loves in Pete’s life are dogs – specifically, his rescue Rottweiler Rodney, who he adopted from Dogs Trust this year after losing both of his beloved French bulldogs, Eric and Peggy, within the past 12 months.
That deep love and connection can currently be seen in the fourth series of his hit show For Dogs’ Sake – the heart-warming “dog-umentary” which sees Pete reveal the emotional reality of rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming vulnerable dogs with Dogs Trust.
“It never feels like work to me,” he says. “I’ve done it for years, on and off camera, and whether they continue to film it or not, I’ll do it till the day I die.
“I’m proud of the impact it’s made. It’s a lot to do with the rehabilitation and journey of the dog before they get to the point where they can be re-homed. I think that’s sometimes the bit we forget about.
“It also highlights the magnificent people who work at dog rescue centres, because it’s not a nine-to-five. It’s emotionally draining. I think they’re all heroes.”
Rodney is also on the payroll, he jokes, and is “as soft as anything, just a big doughnut”.
One of the most heart-wrenching new episodes follows the journey of four doodles who were among 250 dogs rescued from a squalid house by the RSPCA in January this year – a case that horrified the country.
It affected Pete deeply, who explains the dogs were so scared it took months to teach them how to just be dogs again. For the first time in four series, the crew had to install cameras in the room rather than step in themselves, because the dogs were so terrified of people.
He says, “They’re some of the most shut-down dogs I’ve ever seen. When it comes to dogs, I’m a bit of an emotional peach, so quite often I had to take myself off for a little cry. But you have to try and take your emotional state out of it and do what’s best for the dog.”
During his intense stint on Celebrity SAS in 2022, Pete admitted he found it hard to see his value and purpose. So has he found it with For Dogs’ Sake?
“Purpose is a good way to put it,” he smiles. “The awards the show has won are great for an ego boost, but when you look at the impact it’s had on Dogs Trust in terms of an increase in fostering, adoptions, donations – that’s the bit I’m proud of.”
Explaining that he feels calmer, happier and safer around dogs than people, Pete says comedian Ricky Gervais summed it up perfectly when he said, “I couldn’t invent a better thing [than dogs].”
“They give me a sense of freedom,” Pete explains. “They don’t judge. They’re one of the only examples of unconditional love. That level of innocence and trust between two species is just magical.”
In 2024, Pete dazzled on Strictly Come Dancing with his pro partner Jowita Przystal, and he’s watching the new series now. “My vote is Will Best,” he says. “He’s a great guy, my winner.”
He sums up his own experience as a great time, but hard work, and tells us he’s still in touch with lots of celebrities from his season. “I actually saw JB Gill the other day and we were reminiscing,” he says.
Something else Pete is passionate about is mental health, the topic of his podcast Man Made, which has just won two gongs at the British Podcast Awards. The message that it’s good to talk when it comes to men being vulnerable has landed – but Pete believes we need to take the next step and truly listen.
Having had his own struggles over the years, he admits the podcast can be both painful and cathartic.
“You have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone in order to make change,” he says. “I’ve always struggled with feeling like I was enough. I’ll go above and beyond, but I’m never really happy. There’s always more I could or should have done. That’s something I’ll probably struggle with for the rest of my life.”
Pete – whose first tattoo, aged 16, said Never Enough, adds, “Everyone’s going to have ups and downs, but Man Made is about getting to know yourself better. Is that anger coming from sadness, for example, from grief? And it’s about finding what works for you. I find my peace in dogs and riding my motorbike.”
Pete, whose other hit podcast with Sam Thompson, Staying Relevant, is now on 30 million downloads, has his own ideas about what it means to be a man.
“I still find it difficult to be vulnerable,” he admits. “It was always said that a man’s job is to be strong. I just think what we see as strong has changed and evolved. Being strong is being able to communicate, not bottling everything up then releasing it in negative ways.”
The new series of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake is available to stream free on U
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