Another day, another reality TV crossover we never knew we needed and it has brightened our day.
This time it’s The Only Way is Essex lothario Pete Wicks who’s been spotted romancing out and about in London with a very famous face.
Married At First Sight Australia’s Jessika Power has recently moved to the UK permanently, going viral for her UK bucket list which featured such British staples as “G.A.Y and a hun brunch in London”, a “coach trip to Birmingham Primark” and “tea at Buckingham palace” – but perhaps she should consider adding “joining the cast of TOWIE” to that list.
After all, it’s the logical next step for former dating show stars.
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Jessika was yesterday announced as one of the late sign-ups for the upcoming series of Celebs Go Dating (the other one is Geordie Shore’s Marty McKenna) and has thus secured herself work in the British reality TV circuit for months – if not even a couple of years – to come.
And as we all know, the world of reality stars and influencers is a pretty incestuous place and nowhere is this more apparent than within the ever-evolving cast of TOWIE.
There’s been plenty of former Love Islanders who have made the jump, from Kady McDermott to Olivia Attwood. And despite producers enforcing a major cast cull in September to focus on a more streamlined cast, the current series has welcomed even more Islanders.
Love Island 2018 winner Jack Fincham turned up on set thanks to his links with Frankie Sims and Chloe Brockett, Love Island 2019 star Joe Garratt had a brief stint on the show and there's been rumours surrounding Megan Barton-Hanson joining the cast after going official with James Lock.
CHECK OUT: Celebs Go Dating's forbidden romances
Forbidden CGD couples slider
1 of 12Stephanie Pratt and Joey Essex in series 1
When the show was just a little bitty baby in 2016, Stephanie and Joey were its first ever forbidden celeb couple. Then dating expert Nadia Essex certainly made her feelings known as later Steph told us, "I try to block out bad memories, but she didn't accept that Joey and I were dating. She was evil to me when I was dating Joey, on and off camera."She was flirting with Joey."
2 of 12Eden Blackman and Chanel Sadie Paul in series 2
So this was QUITE the scandal at the time. Then dating coach Eden ended up hooking up with one of the civilian daters, Chanel, a Kim Kardashian lookalike who was brought in to date IRL Kim's best mate Jonathan Cheban (awks). It all crumbled though when Chanel found out he'd been two timing her and shared the messages online.
3 of 12Charlotte Dawson and Frankie Cocozza in series 3
She might be settled down with a baby on the way now, but back in 2017 Charlotte looked to the dating agents to find her love with a civilian. Instead, she found a "genuine connection" with disgraced X Factor star Frankie, before accusing him of using her for air time. The pair no longer speak.
4 of 12Tallia Storm and Seb Morris on series 4
Ok, ok, so not STRICTLY a forbidden romance, but Tallia and Seb were the OG exes on the show (to be extremely outshone by Pete Wicks and Megan McKenna two series later) and it was SO CLEAR when the agents had them in a room together that there was still LOADS of chemistry between them.
5 of 12Olivia Attwood and Sam Craske in series 5
Love Island's Olivia certainly had options on the show, reportedly hooking up with Ibiza Weekender's Callum Izzard,too. But it was Diversity Dancer and Jesy Nelson's ex Sam who she attended the final with, and fans were overjoyed at the union.
6 of 12Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks in series 6
Easily the most enduring love affair to have come from the show, Pete and Sam each met their soulmates in each other in series six and are still the best of friends today (even if their relationship does revolve around Pete ripping into Sam).
7 of 12Jack Fincham and Lauren Goodger in series 7
These two Essex natives seem like the perfect match on paper, which is why we were gutted not to see more of their relationship play out. TOWIE's Lauren dropped some major hints she'd been getting intimate with the Love Island winner, but later left the agency early to focus on herself.
8 of 12Megan Barton Hanson and Demi Sims in series 7
After breaking up with her Love Island boyfriend Wes Nelson, Megan admitted she was bi-sexualand on CGD dated both guys and girls. She hit it off with TOWIE's Demi and the two ended the series trying to make a go of it, but it wasn't to last.
9 of 12Josh Ritchie and Olivia Bentley on series 8
Made in Chelsea's poshest export Liv joined the agency looking for a bit of rough and found it in newly single Josh Ritchie, who'd just split from Charlotte Crosby. The pair were photographed snogging at a party and they both admitted to fancying each other.
10 of 12James Lock and Alison Hammond on series 8
Liv was also briefly linked to TOWIE's James but we much preferred the rumours about a romance with daytime telly hun Alison."I fell in love with James Lock on the show. This Greek God," she said at the time. "He did say one thing to me, he actually said, 'Alison you're my perfect girlfriend, personality-wise'."I was absolutely devastated. So I went to the gym and worked out. So personality-wise I'm his perfect girl!"
11 of 12Pete Wicks and Shaughna Phillips in series 9
The celebs might have to maintain a safe distance for 2020's virtual series, but that didn't stop Pete and Love Island's Shaughna hitting it off. She denied any romance but admitted, "Anna and Paul have actually said to me that they think me and Pete are alike in the sense that we kind of go along with things to be nice."That could be a perfect chemistry… He's probably not my type on paper, but he's lovely."
12 of 12Tom Zanetti and Sophie Hermann
Despite Celebs Go Dating the Mansion being rife with rumours of celeb pairings, it was superstar DJ Tom Zanetti and Made in Chelsea heiress Sophie Hermann who made a go of things. Viewers watched the pair flirt their way through the series before finally being set up on a date by Pau and Anna, with Anna telling Closer exclusively that "if a celeb starts to gravitate toward another celebrity, it is something we explore but we also try and keep them on the path of dating regular folk as well."
It’s not the first dalliance Pete and Jessika have had, either, after fans spotted them exchanging flirty comments on social media back in April just weeks after he denied he was romancing ANOTHER reality star, Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause.
Speaking exclusively to Closer at the time, Jessika said, "I think Pete is cute! We met when I did his podcast recently. We follow each other on Instagram and he and I have a bit of flirty banter.
"I would love to move to the UK and I have had a few of the British reality boys flying into my DMs. Scotty T from Geordie Shore and I had a thing a little while ago [while he was in Australia in 2019]. It came out in the media recently and he messaged me and I was like, ‘Why are you still bringing this up, it was like two years ago, babe!’"
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"I am definitely happier in a relationship but, since MAFS, I’m struggling to find somebody who can take on my world."
Speaking of her late arrival on Celebs Go Dating – which is FINALLY resuming it’s regular format after two series of Covid restrictions – Jessika said, "I feel people have a misconception of me being a husband stealing witch but I’m not.
"I am super bubbly, super friendly and I am just like any other girl out there looking for a man."
She added, "But I love a good red flag, which is probably why I am single. If you’re tall, dark and will ruin my life – I will date you."