Since this article was originally written, Nikki has sadly died. For help, support and advice with eating disorders, you can contact BEAT via their helpline and website.
It may be 14 years since Big Brother7 hit our screens (where HAS the time gone?) but we’re just obsessed with the housemates as we were back then. The iconic series propelled the likes of Glyn Wise, Imogen Thomas and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace to fame and spawned one of the first ever reality TV couples – Pete Bennett and Nikki Grahame.
Their romance, which came to an end just one month after they left the Big Brother house, may have been short-lived but they became one of our fave celeb couples of all time.
So much so, that we still often wonder why their relationship came to an end. Well, luckily for us, Pete has now revealed the real reason he and Nikki split.
Nikki became a BB legend for her Diary Room meltdowns and tantrums so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that her diva behaviour continued on the outside world and it sounds like it became a bit too much for Pete.
'We could not have stayed together,' Pete told heat magazine. 'Without Big Brother to tell her off she was another level.'
It doesn’t sound like there’s any bad blood between the exes though, although Pete admitted they 'haven’t spoken for years'.
'We used to speak, but not anymore, hardly at all. She was going to come to Bristol when I was living there, but that kind of f--ked up,' he continued. 'It’s always nice to see her. I used to see her all the time, but I think when she went back on Big Brother [she appeared on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010] and became famous again, we kind of drifted apart. I don’t know why, it just happened.'
Speaking about their whirlwind relationship, he added, 'The memories have kind of merged into one, and I can’t tell what is a memory and what is something I’ve watched on telly.'
Since winning Big Brother, Pete has turned his hand to acting and recently released his own sitcom Green Fingers on Amazon Prime after starring in a number of films. 'I’ve got more films in the pipeline, and I’ve got a part in Catherine Tate’s film_This Nan’s Life_, which should hopefully be released in the cinema later this year. I can’t wait to walk down the red carpet,' Pete added.