One of Essex’s biggest secrets was exposed during last night’s episode of TOWIE (4 October) when Chloe Sims and Pete Wicks finally confirmed they’ve been romantically involved after “blurring the lines” of their friendship.
The former BFFs have been trying to repair their relationship after falling out earlier this year and not speaking for six months. Viewers (and even Chloe and Pete’s fellow cast members) had begun to speculate there were romantic feelings between them and suspicions were well and truly confirmed when Pete made the bombshell revelation during a couples’ counselling session with Celebs Go Dating’s Anna Williamson.
Despite previously insisting he’d never date her, Pete admitted to having an on/off sexual relationship with Chloe, who once described him as her “soulmate”, for the past two years.
When asked if their friendship had ever crossed a line, Pete said, “Yeah, we blurred the lines. Fair?”, while looking at Chloe.
Opening up about their “toxic” relationship, Chloe added, “There’s a pattern. When he can’t have me, he wants me… in that way, not as a friend. When I go away, he follows and we spend time together. Then the minute that I switch and want that, he goes ‘no’.
“That’s led me to take revenge a few times. I’ve done things to hurt him with other guys and it seemed to work because he comes back.”
“Because when you go it feels like I’m going to lose you full stop,” said Pete, to which Chloe replied, “You are, we’re at the end Pete.”
CHECK OUT the jaw-dropping TOWIE couples you forgot about
11 TOWIE couples you completely forgot about - slider
1 of 11Mark Wright and Sam Faiers
Mark and Sam's on/off relationship goes all the way back to when she was 16 and they met on MySpace (aw, those were the days). They briefly dated during their time on TOWIE but were never able to give things a proper go before he quit the show in 2011.
2 of 11Kirk Norcross and Amy Childs
Kirk and Amy's flirtationship was one of the main storylines during the first season of TOWIE and they eventually briefly dated before splitting in 2011. In a 2013 appearance on This Morning, Kirk admitted, "I will still love Amy until the day I die - she is literally like the girl version of me. When it didn't work out, it broke my heart really... and it wasn't her fault, it was both of our fault."
3 of 11Gemma Collins and Charlie King
Gemma and Charlie briefly dated in 2012 but split after she grew concerned about his friendship with Bobby Norris. Two years later, Charlie came out as gay during an appearance on This Morning. He's still friends with Gemma and even admitted in 2017 that he would consider being the GC's sperm donor if she asked.What a turn of events that would be.
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4 of 11Lauren Goodger and Tom Pearce
Remember the days when Joey Essex's BFF Tom Pearce romanced basically every woman within a 10 mile radius of Brentwood? Lauren Goodger became one his many conquests following her split from Mark Wright but they hit the rocks when she caught wind of him bragging about their rendezvous.
5 of 11Mario Falcone and Chloe Sims
It's fair to say Chloe Sims has been unlucky in love over the years but things looked up for her when she began dating close pal Mario. Things moved quick for the pair and she even admitted she loved him - causing friction with BFF Lauren Pope who'd previously dated Mario - but he wasn't ready to settle down and called things off.
6 of 11Harry Derbidge and Bobby Norris
After three years away from the TOWIE scene, OG cast member Harry Derbidge returned as Bobby Norris' boyfriend (in some very skimpy swimwear, nonetheless) during the cast's annual jaunt to Marbs.Their relationship ended in tears though when Harry confessed to sleeping with his ex while on holiday in Tenerife.
7 of 11Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh
They've now found love with soap star other halves Jacqueline Jossa and Ryan Thomas but before that, Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh were an item.They began dating in 2013 but called it quits amid claims he knew about his ex Megan Tomlin being pregnant before getting with Lucy.
8 of 11Charlie Sims and Ferne McCann
Ferne McCann's on/off relationship with Chloe Sims' brother Charlie provided LOTS of dramz on TOWIE over the years, with rumours she cheated on him cropping up more than once.Eventually Charlie publicly quit the show AND dumped Ferne at the same time in a series of tweets in 2014. Awks...
9 of 11Dan Edgar and Kate Wright
Before she wed footballer Rio and became Mrs Ferdinand, Kate Wright joined TOWIE as the ex of Dan Edgar, who reportedly dumped her to star in the show.She took him back after his romances with Lauren Pope and Jess Wright but it wasn't to be and they eventually split for good.
10 of 11Shelby Tribble and Tom McDonnell
Tom McDonnell joined TOWIE alongside a whole host of newbies including Harry Lee and Chloe Brockett in 2019 and soon caught the eye of Shelby Tribble following her split from Sam Mucklow.Sam soon came back on the scene though and Shelby dumped Tom to reunite with her ex. Sam and Shelby later quit the show together and are now expecting their first child.
11 of 11James Argent and Jasmin Walia
In between his long-running relationships with Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins, James Argent was set up on a blind date with Jasmin Walia and they appeared to hit it off. Things seemed to move too quickly for his liking though, causing him to run from her house after being introduced to her parents. Oh, Arg...
It remains to be seen whether Pete and Chloe will be able to salvage their friendship, but the mum-of-one has shared an emotional first social media post since the episode aired.
Alongside a glam photo of herself, Chloe wrote, “My name is Chloe Sims. I’m 38. I’ve got a beautiful daughter. I’ve got a successful TV career of 10 years.
“Everything I have, I’ve worked hard for including my body. I’m sometimes make decisions on emotion, I’m human. I’m still proud of who I am regardless of the abuse I receive on here!!”
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This all comes after Pete cryptically teased that the truth about his relationship with Chloe would eventually be revealed.
"Everyone is really confused by Chloe and me but things will be explained that will make better sense to everyone.
"It's been a confusing couple of years for our friendship. To be honest with you, I'm not in the right headspace for a relationship either," he admitted.
Pete went on to add to the Mail Online, "I'm better off on my own.
"I know I don't have the best track record in telling the truth when it comes to women. But I promise there aren't any other women on the scene."