His relationship with Katie Dadzie hit the headlines over their whopping 27 year age gap – but 60-year-old Nick Knowles proved he’s got high hopes for the romance after he proposed to his girlfriend last week.
Katie, 33, was reportedly “thrilled” with Nick’s proposal, which will see the TV star walk down the aisle for the third time.
And the DIY SOS host tells Closer that it’s not just a physical attraction with businesswoman Katie – who has launched breastfeeding company Boobbix and lingerie line Boa Boa.
Nick, who has four children with three different women, gushes, “Katie’s the perfect woman because she’s beautiful and inspiring. She’s the mum of two kids [who are eight and four], she keeps her business Boobbix going and is about to launch a new one. She won Inspirational Businesswoman of the Year last year for her work with Boobbix, which helps young mums. It’s really incredible.”
And the pair – who met at a playgroup where their now eight-year-olds used to play together – says despite their hectic lives, they always prioritise making time for each other.
Nick says, “We try to do some amazing trips – we’ve just come back from Dubai which was fantastic. And we like to treat ourselves with overnight stays at Home House. It’s a members’ club in London and you don’t need to be a member to stay there. The rooms are beautiful. It’s almost like a museum because it’s so stunning.”
Katie adds, “Nick is definitely a romantic. He cooks lovely dinners for me, something that he’ll know I really like, especially when I’m not feeling great. We always have a date night where we’ll pick a really great restaurant. We also love hotel stays and nice holidays!”
As well as TV presenting, Nick is known for his roller-coaster love life. He shares two children – daughter Tuesday, 25, and son Charlie, 24 – with his first wife Gillian, and he also has another son, Tyrian-J, 24, from a two-year romance with beauty therapist Paula Beckett-Vass.
The star married Jessica Rose Moor, 26 years his junior and the mother of his eight-year old son Eddie, in 2012, but the pair separated just four years later. Jessica later accused Nick of refusing to pay for their son’s private school fees – a claim he has strongly denied.
Nick has also dated Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten, TOWIE star Pascal Craymer and his City Hospital co-star Suzi Perry.
Actress Gemma later slated the star, saying, “I wish I’d never met Nick as it’s haunted me ever since. He is quite similar to [Gemma’s other ex] Scott Walker, they are both very egotistical men. It was impossible to be with them.”
Talking about his second marriage breakdown in 2016, Nick opened up about his relationships, saying, “They last six months and start off with me explaining that I work a lot, so will have commitment issues. The women involved agree that that is fine. Then, after a month, I get a phone call saying, ‘This isn’t on’.”
But Nick says he’s finally found love with down-to-earth Katie and now enjoys blended family life.
The I’m A Celebrity star says, “I met Katie ages ago and we live in the same area, our kids have known each other for a while. We knew of each other while we were in other relationships and then years later bumped into each other again when we were both single. And that was that. It’s very handy to have kids the same ages – they play together really well, which is lovely.”
Now Nick says he laughs that he’s still a housewife’s favourite and a national pin-up at 60.
“It’s hilarious that people would think of me as a pin-up,” he laughs. “I’m currently on a diet because as you get older, it’s more difficult to stay in shape. Having a girlfriend who cooks so brilliantly does help! I like to cook too, so we can both make nice food which is low on carbs and sugars. I’m not pumping iron in the gym but I am climbing mountains and cycling around medieval towns with my travel shows, which is good for me.”
And the star – who presents Amazing Railway Adventures With Nick Knowles – says he recently escaped death after visiting a volcano that blew up weeks after he’d been at the summit. He says, “I was on top of Mount Etna the other day and then I read in the paper shortly afterwards that it blew up…exactly where we were standing. That’s living on the edge! I was also in a gyrocopter recently that almost crashed. Sadly, I’m no Milk Tray man action man though, I look more like I ate the Milk Tray man!”