All tea now - Strictly Come Dancing fans are obsessed with the Strictly curse. Anyone who says, 'No, I just watch it for the dancing and the outfits,' is downright lying with their usage of the word 'just'.
Strictly fans LOVE a rom-com romance, a forbidden romance, a secret romance, and all the sexy dalliances in between – and Strictly offers this in spades.
Celebs have been falling for their professional dancing partners since the show began 20 years ago and audiences have been looking out for sparks ever since. This year, the nation is transfixed on Strictly 2024's Pete Wicks and his partner Jowita Przystal – and seriously now, moisten your eyeballs, guys.
While the dancing duo continue to deny those endless romance rumours, Strictly fans are refusing to let it go; and those Strictly and TOWIE fans are being extra relentless as they know Pete's history with, well, virtually any woman he's ever come into contact with.
Pete's always had a unique charm and charisma when it comes to the ladies in his life, so throwing him into the Strictly curse rumour mill was bound to get a few of us talking.
Including those who know him intimately, it would seem...
In a recent interview, former TOWIE star and House of Sims legend, Chloe Sims – who was involved in a two-year on-off relationship with Pete on the show – said his 'charm' is the reason he's constantly linked to women like his Strictly partner Jowita, and most recently Love Island's Maura Higgins, but stressed, 'There's no smoke without fire.'
Chloe revealed, 'Pete is a right bloody charmer, even men go silly for him, straight men.
'I used to look at him and think, what has this guy got? It's so bizarre, men love him, women love him, older women, younger women, he's just got something, this charm about him.'
'I can see why all these women would be linked to him, they probably are, there's no smoke without fire. I can see why people end up in these relationships on Strictly, they are spending all that time up close and personal, and I can see how these romances happen," she told MailOnline.
'He's a natural born flirt, people instantly fall for him, and I have witnessed it. We would go out to all sorts of events, and I would look and think woah, people literally fall for him instantly.
'To look at him from afar and if you didn't know him, he's not my type in a million years, not even close, but whatever he has got, some magic power, I do not know.'
And according to the iconic reality star, Pete has clearly worked his magic on Strictly producers, too, as once upon a time they had banned TOWIE cast members from the show – and yet here we are.
She added, 'But he must have that to even be on Strictly because they publicly said they would never have TOWIE on there so that's how strong his charm is.'
Go on then, add Pete Wicks and the Strictly production team to the rumour mill, too...
In other Pete news (don't worry, we've been charmed, too), the Strictly star recently suggested that he might not partake in the Strictly tour that usually takes places after the series (if he continues to progress on the show), stating that he's not sure the fandom wants to see anymore of his 'attempts at dancing'. On the record right now, Pete – we do.
WATCH: TOWIE stars who aren't originally from Essex including an OG cast member 😱
Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for Bauer Media, writing for both Closer online and heatworld. When he's not getting paid to gossip about Big Brother, Love Island and The Real Housewives of Cheshire, he's storming the London LGBTQ+ scene as drag queen, Beary Poppins. Both Ben and Beary are awaiting an invite to join The Real Housewives of Cheshire for series 18. The budget's not there, but the drama is.