TOWIE star Kate Wright has FINALLY acknowledged her relationship with Rio Ferdinand on social media – ten months after they began dating.
While retired footballer Rio, 38, has shared pictures of Kate to his social media and alluded to their romance during interviews, this is the first time Kate has ever shared a full picture of them together – faces and all!
So fans were rather stunned when a photo of Kate and Rio together popped up on her Instagram page on Friday following months of silence.
Big step!
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Kate, 26, shared a fun picture of the couple screaming their heads off while enjoying a rollercoaster ride in Dubai.
She captioned it: “Who was screaming louder??”
A hashtag read: “I think it was him!”
Fans were LOVING the fact Kate had finally made some sort of public comment about her man, with one saying: “Lovely to see a picture of you both together.”
Another said: “So lush to see you both so happy.”
A third added: “This makes me smile!! So nice to see you together.”
Kate and Rio were first linked back in January, with reports they’d been introduced through mutual friends.
A few paparazzi photos followed but it wasn’t until August that Rio finally shared a photo of Kate to his social media accounts, showing things had become serious.
Kate then shared a photo of herself and Rio’s sisters to Instagram – but not him.
She posted an image to Instagram in September showing her and Rio working out together in the garden, but their backs were to the camera, obscuring Rio’s identity – though obvs we all knew it was him!
Rio, meanwhile, has been more open about the romance – and posted a picture this week showing just how serious he is about a future with Kate.
It showed the reality star holding hands with his youngest child, while his other two children walked beside her.
His caption read: “Out for dinner #FamilyTime.”
The athlete’s description of Kate as being part of his family was the clearest sign yet that his relationship with her is serious and for the long-haul.
Rio is father to three children: Lorenz, 11, Tate, nine, and six-year-old Tia.
Their mother Rebecca, Rio’s wife, tragically died from breast cancer in 2015 at the age of just 34.
Kate is the first woman Rio has been romantically linked to since Rebecca’s passing, and fans have rallied around the couple’s relationship, saying they’re happy Rio has another chance at love.
Rio opened up about his romance with Kate for the first time during an interview with This Morning earlier this month.
“I’m really happy now,” he told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
“The kids are the happiest they’ve been and I’m in a relationship and it’s going well. My kids deserve to be happy.”
Rio also said his three children had been “involved” in the romance from the start, saying: “They have to be part of that conversation so there’s not been any stage going into this relationship where they’ve not been involved.
“As long as they feel they’re involved and they’re in that conversation I think there’s a chance you can get to this place of happiness.”
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Kate, meanwhile, quit TOWIE in September, telling The Sun: “I’m taking a step back from the public eye, I want to keep my life private as I lived my previous relationship on TOWIE.
“My priority right now is Rio and the family.”
Best of luck guys!