OLIVIA ATTWOOD sure knows a thing or two about love rats.
The reality TV veteran, who will soon host her first ITV2 dating show whipping badly behaved lads into shape, has seen her share of pain.
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Olivia Attwood is about to host her first dating show on ITV2
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Olivia is married to footballer Bradley Dack, who cheated on her with his ex in the early days of their relationshipCredit: Splash
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Olivia Attwood launched Three UK’s Mind, Body & Scroll hub on 7th and 8th August Credit: Jack Hall/Front Page
In 2017, she came third on Love Island with co-star Chris Hughes — when she discovered he had been texting Katie Price behind her back.
The betrayal came after her current husband Bradley Dack cheated on her with his ex in the early days of their relationship – which she recently admitted prompted her to go on the ITV dating show.
Now, in an exclusive interview with The Sun at the launch of Three UK’s Mind, Body & Scroll on The Outernet, Loose Women presenter Olivia has revealed how she and Sunderland footballer Bradley, 30 – who she married in June 2023 – hit it off overcome their bumpy start and are now stronger than ever.
Olivia, 33, also revealed how the pair juggle their careers and cope with a long-distance relationship whenever he’s playing in the North East and she’s in London working on Loose Women, her podcast So Wrong It’s Right and various ITV documentaries.
READ MORE ABOUT OLIVIA ATTWOOD
She recently revealed how she discovered Bradley was cheating on her when they first started dating in 2017, when she received a late-night call from a blocked number.
Recalling the incident with Bradley, she said: “This girl was really upset and she said ‘Hi’ and I asked her ‘Who is this?’
“She replied, ‘That’s Brad’s girlfriend.’ I said, ‘Whoa, what. And again please’.
“Then we talked, and to (Bradley) basically, you’ve been seeing her like you’ve been seeing me.”
Olivia soon appeared on Love Island, where she met Chris and even moved in with him.
But throughout that time, she was still in touch with Bradley, eventually getting back to him in 2018 after she and Chris split.
Olivia Attwood reveals secret messages to her ex from when she lived with Chris Hughes as he hits back
She said: “I feel like we had to break up and fall apart in order to grow up. And we both grew up a lot in those years.
“Obviously I was absolutely furious at the time, but we weren’t in a serious, committed relationship.
“I mean, he did dirty on me, let’s not get it twisted, but we weren’t in the relationship we’re in now.
“It’s such a cliché, but trust is deserved.
“There’s nothing anyone can do to bring it back. It’s something you can build and grow, or you can damage it.
“I believe that the time you spend together as a couple and every little thing you do throughout life builds that trust.
“I think of it like a stone, and then if you damage it, you just break it, and it was about time.
“The whole thing looks like it’s had another life.”
The couple documented their engagement and wedding on the ITV reality show Olivia Meets Her Match.
But then Bradley signed for Sunderland, taking him almost 300 miles from Olivia to London.
In the meantime, her career grew stronger.
There was nothing intentional about any particular route I took
Olivia Attwood
She presented two documentaries for ITV2 — The Price Of Perfection, about plastic surgery, and Getting Filthy Rich, about selling sex online, which won Best Popular Factual Program at the Broadcast Awards last year.
In addition to her So Wrong It’s Right podcast, there’s a new series, Olivia Attwood’s Bad Boyfriends.
On top of that, she’s been on the Loose Women panel since June 2023, making her the first Love Islander to land the coveted job on the ITV daytime show.
Olivia, who also took part in I’m A Celebrity 2022, said: “It’s crazy to be on Loose Women.
“I hate the word ‘journey’, but it’s been a big journey over the last six or seven years, which has happened very organically.
“There was nothing intentional about any particular route I took.
“I’ve gone with the flow while I’ve been working hard, but to sit on Loose with seasoned journalists and TV presenters who have had these amazing careers, I feel very lucky and it’s a lot of fun.
‘OPEN DIALOGUE’
“All women are so funny.
“We have these big meetings in the morning when we go through the show and it’s a laugh for a minute.
“They are such good people to hang out with, and they are also very kind.”
The ladies of The Loose Women are known for being relaxed about what they reveal about their not-so-private lives on the show.
And Olivia thinks she got the job because she’s been doing the same thing her whole career.
She said: “Part of what viewers expect on Loose is very open dialogue, and they all talk about their partners, their home lives, their children.
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Olivia married Sunderland footballer Bradley in June 2023. Credit: Instagram
“It’s kind of like a live diary, isn’t it? And I was always very comfortable with that.
“So I’ve been doing this to Brad for the last six, seven years in some form, spilling all of our personal lives, and he’s relaxed.
“I think he doesn’t read or see much, so what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Not that he’s going to look for him.
“He trains when it’s on, so I can talk about him.
“He’s never gotten me hooked on anything I’ve said yet, though I don’t know how much more I can say. I’m always crossing the line.”
But there is one subject that makes Bradley a little angry to bring it up.
She said: “When I talk about our sex life, he sometimes says, ‘For God’s sake, is nothing sacred?’
“Even I say things sometimes and I think, ‘Why did I say that?'”
Olivia thinks Bradley’s laid-back nature is why their relationship works — and why it’s so much stronger now that they’re older.
She said: “He’s the perfect balance to my neurotic type A personality. He’s laid-back, kind and forgiving.
“He’s happy for me to be who I am.
“He wants me in the spotlight. He doesn’t want to be in the center of attention and he encourages and pushes me, and he is my biggest supporter and vice versa.
NOTHING BEYOND THE DECK
“When you get into that adult relationship where it’s not hard work, every day is not hard. It’s not meant to be difficult.
“And it’s very easy to co-exist together, as it should be.”
And despite regularly being in a long-distance relationship, the couple make sure to stay in touch.
Olivia — who teamed up with phone network Three UK for their social fitness campaign Mind, Body & Scroll — said: “We all live with our phones in our hands, but a lot of people don’t really use them to their full potential.
“I am someone who is always on the move. Like many of us, my family is all over the country, so without my network I wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with everyone.
“It’s hard for me and Brad to talk on the phone during the day.
“We play a little phone tennis, like he’s trying to call me, then I’m on camera and I’m trying to call him, and he’s training.
“But we always try to text during the day and then FaceTime before bed when we’re apart.”
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Olivia said: ‘It’s crazy to be on Loose Women’ Credit: Rex
And she joked: “You want to feel like you’ve seen them before you go to sleep – and also check where he is.”
As well as Olivia’s new show on ITV2 later this year, she has an episode of her podcast coming up with Katie Price.
It will be the first time the pair have spoken since 2018, when the former glamor model revealed Olivia’s then-boyfriend Chris had sent her 52 flirty Snapchat messages behind her back.
Olivia said: “The episode was filmed before she went to Turkey for a facelift but it was a great interview.
“She is an open book and very funny. We talked about the surgery, her past, history with Chris. Nothing was off the deck.”
- Olivia launched Three UK’s Mind, Body & Scroll campaign to strengthen our sense of community and belonging within our networks.
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Olivia became famous on Love Island
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Olivia took part in I’m A Celebrity 2022 Credit: Rex
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Olivia spoke exclusively to The Sun at Three UK’s Mind, Body & Scroll event Credit: Provided
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