THEIR two-year rollercoaster relationship has had more twists and turns than most do in a decade – but the news of Katie Price and JJ Slater’s sudden split still came as a shock to fans.
For months, , 47, batted away claims she’d JJ, 32, but her pals can now reveal the glamour model mum had been putting on a brave face to hide the truth – that the couple’s problems were far worse than most knew.
Katie Price finally called time on her and JJ Slater’s relationship for good last weekCredit: YouTube/@WeNeedToTalk-Podcast
Insiders tell The Sun that the split was a year in the makingCredit: BackGrid
The mum-of-five was secretly unhappy for nearly half of their two-year relationshipCredit: Splash
Insiders in Camp Katie tell The Sun that the split was a whole YEAR in the making and that she’d been secretly unhappy for almost half of their relationship – despite trying to keep up appearances with loved-up snaps shared with her 2.7million followers.
A source close to the mum-of-five reveals: “The truth is, Katie hasn’t been in love with JJ for a good 12 months.
“She just hasn’t felt that spark between them for ages and knew they weren’t compatible. She has had these doubts for a long time, but despite that, she stuck it out with him probably longer than she should have.
“There have been so many rows and arguments between them, yet, until very recently, she still kept trying to patch things up.”
So what made feisty Kate, a woman known for being single-minded and never struggling to find another suitor, stick it out with a man she knew wasn’t right for her?
It turns out she felt pressured by many in her inner circle to make things work.
The source added: “A lot of people in Katie’s family, as well as her friends, told her how good JJ was for her. They believed he was a real stabilising force, and in many ways, he was, so Katie kept trying to make things work.
He isn’t really dynamic or fiery enough to keep someone like Katie interested long term
Insider
“In the past, she’s pursued the wrong kind of men based on passion, chemistry and sexual attraction, but those relationships haven’t worked out either, so she thought this time, maybe it was better if she stuck with the ‘nice’ guy.
“JJ is certainly a decent bloke; he always tried to do right by Kate and was great with the kids, but any initial excitement and chemistry between them died a long time ago. He isn’t really dynamic or fiery enough to keep someone like Katie interested long term.
“In some ways, he helped calm Kate, but she needs more than that – she needs someone who will challenge her and keep her on her toes. Kate tried to convince herself she could be happy with ‘Mr Normal’, but deep down, she is someone who needs to feel those fireworks, and she didn’t want to settle for something that just felt safe.”
As recently as , the pair were dogged by more split rumours, but Katie seemed to put a pin in them on on .
As the New Year dawned, however, we’re told Kate had an epiphany and realised she couldn’t go into 2026 not being honest with herself.
Our insider explains: “January is a reflective time, and Kate realised she had to stop kidding herself. She decided to stop listening to outside noise and go with her heart.
“Maybe it’s been to her detriment at times, but Katie is someone who doesn’t just want stability; she wants love. She wants the fairytale at the end of the day, and she’ll never stop looking for her Prince – even if things get messy along the way, as they so often have for her.”
The three-year itch
As long-time followers of Katie’s soap opera-style love life will recall, not only have her marriages to , and all ended in tears – not to mention ongoing feuds with several of these former spouses to this day – but the ones she didn’t make it down the aisle with have followed similarly explosive courses.
Beyond her husbands, many of her blokes have failed to get beyond the three-year mark.
It has been revealed that Katie felt pressured by many in her inner circle to make things work with JJCredit: @katieprice/Backgrid
Katie is said to have had doubts about the pair for a ‘long time’Credit: Splash
Katie Price spent Christmas with JJ’s family while dodging split rumoursCredit: Katie Price/Instagram/Backgrid
Her romance with , her first true love, crashed and burned after less than three years, while her on-off romance with footballer , the father of her son Harvey, was even shorter.
Hunky Argentine model was around between 2010 and 2011, but their engagement ended after six months, while personal trainer proved to be another failed fiancé after two years together in 2019.
proved an on-off presence between 2020 and 2023, but their relationship was rocked by rumours of infidelity and regular splits.
Now JJ has joined the pyre of broken relationships after a couple of years, with it emerging last week that he had moved out of – and we’re told he is still processing it all.
The insider said: “JJ knew things weren’t great between them, as they had been bickering constantly, but he was still surprised to get his marching orders because they had broken up a few times before and then always got back together within a few days.
She knows a lot of people in her life will be disappointed she and JJ are no longer together, but she can’t live her life for others
An Insider
“This time, though, he knows there is no going back. He’s sad as he does love Katie, as well as her family, but he realises that, if he is honest, perhaps he got too comfortable in a relationship that, in the end, wasn’t what either of them really deserved.
“In some ways, it felt like they were an old married couple who had got complacent with each other, not a pair who had only been together a couple of years.”
In the beginning, it certainly was a different story. Katie and JJ got together towards the end of 2023, after she watched him on , where he enjoyed a secret affair with bride .
Katie and JJ got together after she watched him on Married At First SightCredit: Splash
An insider said JJ, pictured with Katie’s son Harvey, ‘always tried to do right by Kate and was great with the kids’Credit: Splash
After his split with Ella, which happened at the end of filming months before the show went to air, Katie slid into his DMs, and a spark quickly ignited.
The source told us: “In the beginning, it was all very flirty and fun, and they fancied the pants off each other.
“JJ was just Kate’s type – a pretty boy from reality TV – while he couldn’t believe his luck that Katie fancied him – he’d grown up, like most lads, with a massive crush on her.
“The problem was, things became quite serious quite quickly, with JJ moving in and becoming part of the furniture in Kate’s family life. He has his own clothing brand, but as anyone knows, it’s a challenging industry, and .
“He often found himself following Kate around the country to her various work commitments, or helping with looking after the children, and that became frustrating for him as well as her.
Katie Price's relationship history
We take a look back at the highs and lows of Katie Price's relationship history.
1996-1998: Katie got engaged to Gladiators star Warren Furman – aka Ace – with a £3,000 ring. But their relationship didn’t make it as far as ‘I do’.
1998-2000: Katie described Dane Bowers as ‘the love of her life’ but she broke up with the singer after he allegedly cheated on her.
2001: Footballer Dwight Yorke is the father of Katie’s eldest child Harvey. He has had very little to do with his son throughout his life.
2002: Rebounding from Dwight, Katie famously had one night of passion with Pop Idol star Gareth Gates, allegedly taking his virginity.
2002-2004: Katie was dating Scott Sullivan when she entered the jungle for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. He threatened to “punch Peter’s lights out” when chemistry blossomed between her and Peter Andre.
2004-2009: The jungle romance resulted in Katie marrying Aussie pop star Peter. They had two kids, Junior and Princess, before their bitter split in 2009.
2010-2011: Fresh from her break-up with Peter, Katie enjoyed a whirlwind relationship and marriage with cage fighter Alex Reid. They split 20 months after their Las Vegas wedding.
2011: Katie briefly dated model Danny Cipriani… but it ended as quickly as it begun.
2011-2012: They didn’t speak the same language, but Katie got engaged to Argentinian model Leandro Penna in 2011. He later fled home to South America.
2012-2018: Wedding bells rang once more after Katie met Kieran Hayler in 2013. They had two kids together, Jett and Bunny, before their break-up and divorce.
2018-2019: Katie moved on quickly with Kris Boyson. They had an on-off romance for one year and even got engaged. They split for good in 2019.
2019: Katie was linked to Charles Drury during her on-off relationship with Kris. Charles, who also dated Lauren Goodger, has always denied being in “official relationship” with her.
2020-2023: Car salesman Carl Woods took a shine to Katie in 2020. Their relationship was up and down for three years. They broke up for a final time last year.
2024-2026: After weeks of rumours, Katie confirmed her relationship with Married At First Sight star JJ Slater in February 2024. The pair split in January 2026 after two years together.
“He didn’t want to be known as just ‘Mr Katie Price’ and she didn’t want a man without a busy career of his own. It’s fair to say it all led to tension on both sides, and the honeymoon period was over long before Katie finally pulled the plug on the relationship.
“It will certainly be an adjustment for JJ now, though. Life with Katie is a crazy whirlwind, and while he may not have always been happy, there is something seductive about being in that kind of spotlight, even if it’s dysfunctional.”
So, while JJ gets used to life post-Pricey, what’s next for Katie herself?
Those who know her well certainly don’t expect her to be single for long, that’s for sure.
They added: “Katie might say publicly that she wants to take her time looking for Mr Right, but she is a serial monogamist who finds it hard to be alone, so I’d be very surprised if she was still on the market come the summer.
“Given she hasn’t been happy for a long time, I’d expect her to find someone who can make her smile again very soon indeed. There will likely be no shortage of blokes in her DMs already.”
As her own famous adage goes, never underestimate the Pricey.
Our source reveals there was tension on both sides, and the honeymoon period was over long before Katie finally pulled the plugCredit: PA
Those who know her well certainly don’t expect her to be single for longCredit: Katie Price/Facebook/Backgrid
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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