HE’S the bad boy who caused a storm when he first appeared on The Only Way Is Essex and now Pete Wicks’ good looks and brawn have caught the attention of stunning actress Danielle Harold.
But she isn’t the first hot celebrity to be captivated by his come-to-bed eyes and the way he flirtatiously tucks that infamous hair behind his ears.
There’s actually a science behind how he manages to woo so many women – the Golden Ratio which hits the sweet spot in the hearts of women far and wide.
And could soap star Danielle, 31, be the next woman to be enticed by his heavily-tattooed charms?
In recent snaps, the 35-year-old was seen cosy-ing up to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star while Down Under in Australia after her camp exit – and rumours are rife about what comes next.
Relationship expert Annabelle Knight says: “He’s the ultimate lothario and women just can’t seem to get enough of him, this is down to the self-assuredness he exudes, everything from what he says, the clothes he wears, to those long locks – it all contribute to this man’s appeal.
“We only need to look at his glamorous exes to see this – Megan McKenna, Ella Rae Wise – and now, Danielle Harold seems to be in the picture.”
Here, we look at the science behind Pete’s sex appeal and delve into the hidden clues as to why he is so irresistible to women…
Pete’s TOWIE days caused quite a stir. His love of animals, his humour, and the way he left women feeling like they wanted to date him – on the surface, he ticks all the boxes, a seemingly perfect package.
That’s until a woman falls for his charm and ends up hurt and confused. But for some reason, women just can’t help themselves.
Long after men buns went out of fashion Pete kept on rocking his long hair which Annabelle says is one of the biggest reasons the glamorous gals of TOWIE sought his attention.
“Growing long, healthy hair that is well-kept and looked after signifies a degree of commitment and responsibility,” she says.
“This subconsciously translates from fashion-based self-care into something more solid and serious by suggesting that they would be a good partner.
“This clear sense of self-identity can be very attractive to the opposite sex as it shows they are comfortable in their skin, they’re not bound by societal norms, and, because they can express themselves aesthetically they are better able to express themselves when it comes to their emotions too.”
Mark Wright’s sister Jessica couldn’t help but go after Pete ‘The Pirate’ Wicks – a nickname he was given thanks to his long mane and tattoos – and the pair made headlines with their on-screen chemistry.
After exchanging a series of flirty texts, the pair even reportedly shared a heated kiss.
But the romance was short-lived when Jessica had a drunken snog with fellow co-star Lewis Bloor.
Next, Pete found himself in the arms of another TOWIE star, Verity Chapman.
This too was a brief encounter as Verity had caused so much controversy with the likes of Danielle Armstrong, as well as Chloe Sims and their romantic interests James Lock and Jake Hall.
She ultimately left the show with Danni called her a “24 karat b***h”.
But it isn’t only those long locks and the which makes him so appealing.
According to Annabelle, it’s just one of three strands to Pete’s ‘perfect’ Golden Ratio which makes him so hot – the next one is his body language – the eyes speak volumes.
She says Pete has a “good understanding of how important non-verbal communication is within a relationship”.
“Pete has one of the best levels of eye contact out there, which shows his partner that he is taking their words, and in turn their feelings seriously,” Annabelle explains.
“This could be seen in spades when it came to his relationship with Megan McKenna, someone who publicly admitted that she found it difficult to trust.
“To try and ease her into their relationship Pete made sure to give her good eye contact whenever there was an issue between them.”
Despite this, they reportedly had a tumultuous relationship with cheating rumours surrounding them one week while Pete was whispering “I really want to f**k you,” over a romantic meal the next.
In 2017 the pair split and in a later interview during his stint on TV show Celebs Go Dating, Pete confessed: “About three or four months into us being together I made a few mistakes. I was messaging other women.
“When I start to get feelings for someone I feel vulnerable.”
Adding to Pete’s sex appeal is his style, including his tattoos, accessories and the clothes he wears – the third ingredient in his irresistible ratio.
According to Annabelle, he exudes a sense of self security, which creates a “comfortable confidence in who he is”.
She says: “This is actually a two-way street, not only does it mean he is intrinsically secure, it also shows that he projects an external security as well.
“This again contributes to the levels of emotional maturity his girlfriends will perceive he has. Emotional availability and maturity are the cornerstones of a happy and healthy relationship and quite possibly one of the reasons women find Pete so irresistible.”
There’s no doubt that a strong sense of style contributes to Pete’s overall confidence which could have attracted Towie’s Shelby Tribble to him as the pair found love just one year after his split from Megan.
But it was doomed from the start as following their split just eight months later, Shelby said: “I always felt like I was living in Megan’s shadow because when we first got together he used to mention her a lot.”
During the same year, Pete was linked to Love Island’s Megan Barton Hanson.
The pair were reportedly seen disappearing together during a boozy night out while the blonde beauty was in a relationship with Wes Nelson.
However, Pete vehemently denied these rumours as he told OK! Magazine: “There’s no truth in any of it. I just seemed to get typecast as being some sort of pantomime villain at the minute.”
In 2020, it sensationally emerged that Pete and Chloe Sims had been “sleeping together for two years” on and off.
While it was a shock, there were tell-tale signs of how intimate their relationship had become, including Pete’s constant need to drape an arm over her.
Annabelle reveals how this is his way of protecting his partner.
“This serves two purposes,” she adds. “It shows her he has her wellbeing at the forefront of his actions, and it shows the world that he wishes to protect her.”
Pete and Chloe had kept their relationship a complete secret, but it all came out when Pete admitted they had “blurred the lines” back in 2018.
However, Pete appeared terrified of committing to the blonde beauty as he dramatically told Chloe on the ITV show: “I can’t be in a relationship, I can’t give you what you want and I can’t give you what you deserve and I know that.”
In October of the same year, Pete opened up on their relationship to The Sun, explaining that they couldn’t maintain a relationship as things had become too messy between them.
“I do love her and she is one of the most important people to me and hopefully I am to her but we have subsequently made a mess of our friendship,” he said.
After Chloe, Pete found a connection with TOWIE star Ella Rae Wise in 2021, despite their 11-year age gap.
Annabelle believes Pete’s body language had a lot to do with how they got together: “Pete’s superpower is his hair, he knows it, his partners know it – the whole world probably knows it. To remind the lady in his life that he likes to bring his hair to their attention, sometimes by running his fingers through it, other times by tucking it behind his ears.
“This was best observed in his relationship with Ella Rae Wise, a woman who has great hair herself.
“This works well for two reasons. The science behind this shows us that drawing attention to our hair is a common way of flirting and it is also a way to show off our genes. Strong, healthy hair is an attractive quality in a partner and by playing with it we are highlighting this and flexing our romantic muscles.”
While they hit it off extremely well, the pair split amicably following Pete’s departure from Towie after eight years.
During an Instagram Q&A, she told followers that she was “gutted” by his decision to leave Towie, but had “made a forever friend in Pete”.
She added: “We still very much keep in touch”.
Pete has been involved with several other women since Ella Rae Wise, including Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and Married At First Sight’s Jessica Power.
But it appears he may have a new flame in Danielle.
Speaking of their reported budding romance and the pose they were snapped in, Annabelle says: “We can see him in this romantically positive pose as there are several snaps of Pete with his arm draped around Danielle.
“An arm around someone sends a clear message of romantic intent and is one of Pete’s main ways to flirt and show commitment to someone to the rest of the world.”
In an interview on The Secret To podcast with Vicky Pattison back in 2022, he told her: “I would love to get married one day, I believe in soulmates, but I’m not going to be in a relationship if that isn’t the person that I genuinely see the rest of my life with.”
Instead, he believes it’s important to know and love yourself first.
He explained: “People jump from relationships – they’re constantly in relationships, they don’t really give themselves the time to find themselves. It’s just as important to know what you don’t want as what you do want.
“People think having someone completes them – no one completes you, complete yourself.
“In a relationship, I would like to find someone who has their life and I have my life, but we have a life together.
“You have to have some identity and individuality whether you’re in a relationship or not because you’re still an individual person.”
He added: “And I don’t want to lose that to be in a relationship, you don’t feel like you have to be with someone, learn to be on your own and that’s OK.”
It may be too soon to tell whether this is the real deal or not, but one thing is for sure: Pete could well be looking for ‘The One’.
