EXCLUSIVE! Carl Woods: “I can’t stand ‘Jordan’ but marriage to Katie Price is for keeps”

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Jordan. Last February, she admitted herself into rehab clinicThe Priory after hitting rock bottom. She was suffering from suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder following a series of personal problems, including bankruptcy, a divorce, a broken engagement, and self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

By April, she’d vowed to remain clean and sober for the sake of her five children. Then in July, she met Carl Woods at Essex restaurant Sheesh, and Jordan – real name Katie Price, 40 – claims he has completely “turned [her] life around”.

Speaking to Closer last week, Carl admits the timing was perfect, as the pandemic has helped them quickly settle into family life. He insists he wouldn’t have dated her if she’d still been a “wild child”.

Carl, 31, explains, “Everyone tells me she’s changed since she’s been with me and that I’ve made her happy. She had been in a bad place before she met me. I knew nothing about that time in her life when we first met, but it seems she’d lost her head a few times.

“Now she isn’t drinking and being wild. She has settled down and we enjoy a quiet family life. In truth, if I’d met Katie a few years ago when she was going through that stage, we wouldn’t have worked out. If she was still her ‘Jordan’ alter ego we would have clashed, because I hate partying. I can’t stand the ‘Jordan’ thing. I think Katie probably struggled to let go of the ‘Jordan’ alter ego for a while.

“People call me her toyboy, but I’ve got an old head, whereas she has a young head, so we balance each other out.

“She’s a different person now and I’m really proud of how she’s doing. She’s an innocent girl inside, she’s just got a shell.”

Last week, the mum-of-five, whose eldest son Harvey, 18, has autism, ADHD and Prada-Willi Syndrome, announced that she’d made the heartbreaking decision to place him into full-time care, three hours away from her home in Sussex. Although it’s been a difficult decision for Jordan, Carl says, “It’s a chance to give Harvey some independence as he develops into a young adult.”

He adds, “Harvey doesn’t like change because of his autism but, thankfully, he has really warmed to me. When we’re together in the same room, he will choose to sit by me, and when we’re not together, he’ll FaceTime me.

“It’s nice that he feels comfortable enough to do that. Katie appreciates it, too. She’s protective of all her kids and loves them all equally, but Harvey is more vulnerable so she is extra cautious over how he is feeling.”

Jordan was also left distraught when she discovered her beloved mum Amy was suffering from a terminal lung illness in 2018, shortly before she accused third husband Kieran Hayler of cheating on her again and calling time on their marriage for good. She then became engaged to personal trainer Kris Boyson, but their romance ended after a turbulent year where she admitted to cheating, having drug binges and wild partying. It came to a head in February, after she felt suicidal and sought professional help.

Following years of heartache, plus three failed marriages, Jordan revealed in July that she’d finally found her Prince Charming in Carl, while he says she made his childhood dreams come true, because he’d had a schoolboy crush on the former glamour model.

Carl says, “I’ve known her since I was 15 – she just didn’t know it then. I had about six posters of her on my wall! But it’s funny because the reality is even better than the fantasy; Katie is a lot more ‘me’ than the old Jordan would have been.”

And Essex car salesman Carl –who’s no stranger to reality TV after a brief stint on Love Island in 2016 – pursued his dream to meet Jordan, 42, when he realised they had a mutual friend: the owner of local hotspot Sheesh. He explains, “I’d seen her there a few times and I’d always been trying to meet her. We both know the owner and I told him to call me whenever Katie was there. I’d tried before, but she’d been singing on stage.

“After he showed her a picture of me, she wanted to meet me too. When the owner called me, she only had 45 minutes left [at the venue], and I’ve never showered as quickly! I legged it down there and it was a bit like speed dating, but we got along so well straight away.

“When I met her, I thought she had three kids, then I found out she has five. I thought ‘Holy f**k!’

“She gave me a good grilling – her main thing was that she wanted to know that I had a job and that I could afford to take her out for dinner. Luckily, I could do both.”

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The pair became inseparable, but just weeks later – during their first holiday to Turkey as a couple – Jordan broke both her feet after jumping off a 25ft wall. With the mum-of-five confined to a wheelchair, Carl was left to act as her “carer”, waiting on her 24/7 and was often seen carrying her around.

He says, “That situation brought us really close quite quickly. We’d only just met and, all of a sudden, my new girlfriend couldn’t walk any more. She couldn’t do anything. I had to carry her to the toilet and then hover her over it. Sometimes she missed and it went all over me – that bonds you pretty quickly! I don’t like the word carer but, in essence, that’s what I did – I looked after her.”

Carl admits he used to have “a quiet life” prior to meeting Jordan, but he is now stepdad to her five children – including Harvey, Junior, 15, Princess, 13, Jett, seven, and Bunny, six. However, Carl has taken it all in his stride, saying, “Being a stepdad has been the biggest change, but I’m lucky because Katie’s kids are good kids. She has brought them up well. I’d say I’m there with the stepdad role. Princess calls me her stepdad, and me and Junior hang out together.”

Carl says dating Katie during the pandemic has been beneficial for their relationship, as it has given them quality time together to build a home and family unit.

“Everyone has their own opinions about things moving quickly, but she’s The One – and to take on everything I have, you’ve got to be sure. I used to have a quiet life, but now I absolutely do not!

“Actually, getting together during the pandemic has been a good thing. I’m a homebody but I’m also ambitious – I’ve got my business to think about. Katie and I are lucky in that we are both self-employed so we work our schedules around each other – like she will help me pick up cars or I can take her to her publicity events.

“Then in the evenings we sit together, or as a family, watching TV – we watch a lot of documentaries, especially crime series. And we have date nights – sometimes she’ll cook or we’ll get a takeaway and we just chill on the sofa.

“I don’t think that will change much when the pandemic is over. It’s put life into perspective – it’s all about having quality time with family and loved ones.”

Jordan has made no secret of her desire to walk up the aisle again, despite failed marriages to singer Peter Andre, cage fighter Alex Reid and former stripper Kieran Hayler. And her well-publicised relationship history hasn’t deterred Carl. He explains, “I don’t worry about her past. I think the difference is that I don’t need Katie for anything. I’m not interested in fame, I have money, and I had a good lifestyle before I met her.

“If you’re not needed, it’s about getting to know the person and not what you can gain from the relationship. In the past, she felt like that’s what she had from men, and therefore if she felt that way with me she would run riot. But now she knows that we are together because we want to be and get on so well. We haven’t argued and I won’t take any of her playing up or falling out of nightclubs – that’s not me.”

Jordan’s also revealed that she and Carl are trying for a baby. Earlier this month, she told followers she was taking folic acid supplements to increase her chances of getting pregnant.

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The couple are hoping for another two children, and Carl says, “We’re not being careful, we’re just letting nature take its course and we’re having a lot of fun trying in the meantime. We’d like to have two children quite close together. Her other kids are quite close and that makes a better bond. I’m close to my sister and we’re 18 months apart.

“In five years’ time, I see us married with our own kids, in our own house with Porsches outside. We’ll have to buy a bigger house – we’d need an eight-bed!

“It’s been hyped up about Katie panicking about her age, but she isn’t – neither of us are. Katie is relaxed and happy,  she knows it will happen.”

For her 2005 wedding to Pete, Jordan threw a £1million, Cinderella-themed bash, followed by a raucous wedding with Alex in Las Vegas in 2010, and a Bahamas beach wedding to Kieran in 2013 – but Carl vows that his wedding to Jordan “won’t be like her others”.

Hinting that a proposal is in the pipeline – he has already sussed out her ring size – Carl says, “I promise you it [the wedding] will be different and quirky. It will be nothing like she’s ever done before. I wanted to do something different because I am different. This is the final wedding for her now, and this one is for keeps.”

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