Faye Brookes, who plays Kate Connor on Coronation Street, has revealed that she and her boyfriend Gareth Gates avoid discussing his teenage fling with Katie Price.
Pop Idol constant Gareth slept with Katie when he was just 17 years old. TV star Katie, who was pregnant with her first son Harvey at the time, was the one who leaked details about their fling.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle left devastated by his mum’s death
“Gareth and I don’t talk about Jordan,” Faye told Closer magazine.
“We’ve all got a past. Gareth would hate it if any of my previous relationships were dragged up. Everybody needs to move on.
“We don’t let things like that come between us – there’s no need. I wasn’t around then. He was young, that’s all I know.”
Gareth admits he found it difficult to cope the attention on his private life. “There are stars out there who are out there for the wrong reasons,” he has said. “I wanted to be recognised for my talent.”
Faye and Gareth have been together since 2012, when they both appeared in Legally Blonde: The Musical.
He and Faye are still madly in love. “From the moment I met him he was writing songs for me… it’s beautiful,” says Faye. “Our relationship is like no other, but I do need to keep us well protected.”
Read more: Piers Morgan gagged by fellow celebs for Comic Relief
In January, Faye won a best newcomer gong at the National Television Awards, with Gareth supporting her on the red carpet.
“Gareth is so proud of me, he knows how hard I have worked to get here,” she has said.
“But it is hard in this industry. Once you are up there – and he has watched it happen and people have done it to him– it is a whirlwind and you just go with it.”
She also revealed she wasn’t always a fan of her other half.
“When Pop Idol was on, I was 15 and my best friend in school had a huge poster of Gareth on her bedroom wall — but I voted for Will Young,” she confessed to The Sun.
“Whenever I stayed at her house and I slept in that bed I’d be like, ‘I don’t get it!’ I was so, ‘Whatever!’ about him.”
Gareth has also admitted that it wasn’t quite love at first sight when they met. “I was quite scared of Faye, actually!” he said. “She was this amazing leading lady so she was quite intimidating.”