OLIVIA ATTWOOD certainly knows a thing or two about love rats.
The reality TV veteran, who is about to host her first dating show on ITV2 whipping badly behaved boyfriends into shape, has had her share of heartache.
In 2017 she came third on Love Island with screen partner Chris Hughes — then discovered he had been messaging Katie Price behind her back.
The betrayal came after her now-husband Bradley Dack cheated on her with his ex in the early days of their relationship — which she recently confessed is what drove her to going on the ITV dating show.
Now, in an exclusive interview with The Sun, Loose Women presenter Olivia has told how she and 30-year-old Sunderland footballer Bradley — who she married in June 2023 — managed to overcome their bumpy start and are now stronger than ever.
Olivia, 33, also revealed how the couple juggle their careers and cope with a long-distance relationship whenever he is playing in the North East and she is in London working on Loose Women, her So Wrong It’s Right podcast and various ITV documentaries.
Recently she revealed how she had discovered Bradley was cheating on her when they were first dating in 2017, when she got a call from a blocked number late at night.
Recalling the event with Bradley, she said: “This girl was really upset and said, ‘Hello’, and I asked, ‘Who’s this?’
“She replied, ‘It’s Brad’s girlfriend’. I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa. And again, please’.
“Then we had a chat, and (to Bradley) basically, you had been seeing her as well as me.”
Olivia appeared in Love Island soon after, where she met Chris, and even moved in with him.
But throughout that time she was still in touch with Bradley, eventually getting back with him in 2018 after she and Chris had split up.
She said: “I feel like we had to break up and fall apart to grow up. And we both grew up a lot in those years.
“Obviously, at the time, I was absolutely furious but we weren’t in a serious, committed relationship.
“I mean, he did me dirty, let’s not get it twisted, but it wasn’t like we were in the relationship we are now.
“It’s such a cliché, but trust is earned.
“There’s not one thing anyone can do to win it back. It’s something you can build and grow, or you can damage it.
“I believe 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 rock, and then if you’re damaging it, you’re just chipping away at it, and it was just about time.
“That whole thing feels like another lifetime ago.”
The pair documented their engagement and wedding on ITV reality show Olivia Meets Her Match.
But then Bradley signed for Sunderland, taking him away nearly 300 miles from Olivia in London.
Meanwhile, her career went from strength to strength.
There was nothing intentional about any particular route I’ve taken
Olivia Attwood
She has fronted two documentaries for ITV2 — The Price Of Perfection, about cosmetic surgery, and Getting Filthy Rich, about selling sex online, which last year won Best Popular Factual programme at the Broadcast Awards.
Besides her podcast So Wrong It’s Right, there is also the new show, Olivia Attwood’s Bad Boyfriends.
On top of all that, she has been on the Loose Women panel since June 2023, making her the first Love Islander to get a coveted job on the ITV daytime show.
Olivia, who also took part in I’m A Celebrity in 2022, said: “It’s insane that I’m 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’ve taken.
“I’ve gone with the flow while working really hard, but to sit on Loose with seasoned journalists and broadcasters who have had these amazing careers, I feel very lucky, and it’s a lot of fun.
“The women are all so funny.
“We have these big meetings in the morning when we go through the show and it’s a laugh a minute.
“They’re such good craic to hang around with and very kind as well.”
The Loose Women ladies are known for being loose-lipped with what they reveal about their not-so-private lives on the show.
And Olivia thinks that having done the same throughout her career is why she got the job.
She said: “Part of what the viewers expect on Loose is a very open dialogue, and they all talk about their partners, their home lives, their kids.
“It’s kind of like a live diary, isn’t it? And I’ve always been very comfortable with that.
“So I’ve been doing this to Brad for the last six, seven years in some shape or form, spilling all our personal life, and he’s chill.
“I think a lot of it he doesn’t read or see, so what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him. It’s not like he goes looking for it.
“He’s training when it’s on, so I can talk about him.
“He’s never pulled me up on anything I’ve said yet, although I don’t know how much more I can say. I’m always overstepping the boundaries.”
But there is one topic Bradley does get a bit miffed about her mentioning.
She said: “When I talk about our sex life, sometimes he’s like, ‘For God’s sake, is nothing sacred?’
“Even I say things sometimes and I’m like, ‘Why did I say that?’”
Olivia thinks Bradley’s relaxed nature is why their relationship works — and why it’s so much more solid now they are older.
She said: “He’s the perfect balance to my neurotic Type A personality. He’s relaxed, he’s 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 spotlight and he encourages me and pushes me, and he’s my biggest supporter and vice versa.
“When you get into that adult relationship where it’s not hard work, every day is not difficult. It’s not meant to be difficult.
“And it’s very easy to co-exist together, which is how it should be.”
And despite regularly being in a long-distance relationship, the couple make sure they stay in touch.
Olivia — who has partnered with phone network Three UK for its Mind, Body & Scroll social media campaign — said: “We all live with our phones in our hands, but a lot of people are not actually using them to their full advantage.
“I’m someone that’s always on the go. Like a lot of us, my family’s all around the country, so without my network I wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with everyone.
“For me and Brad, it’s difficult to get on the phone during the day.
“We do play a bit of phone tennis, like he’s trying to call me, then I’m on camera and I try to call him and he’s training.
“But we always try to text throughout the day and then we will FaceTime before bed when we’re apart.”
And she joked: “You want to feel like you’ve seen them before you go to sleep — and check where he is as well.”
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 glamour model revealed Olivia’s then-boyfriend Chris had sent her 52 flirty messages on Snapchat behind her back.
Olivia said: “The episode was recorded before she went to Turkey for her facelift but it was a great interview.
“She’s an open book and very funny. We spoke about surgery, her past, her history with Chris. Nothing was off-deck.”
