WALKING out of the I’m A Celebrity camp arm-in-arm after a double eviction, it seemed Amy Willerton and Joey Essex were destined for lasting love.
In the jungle, the former Miss Universe competitor and the TOWIE hunk were inseparable and regularly shown cuddling, showering together and even giving each other massages.
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They were tipped to be the next Peter Andre and Katie Price, who found love on the ITV reality show in 2004, but Amy says Joey “changed” in the days after filming wrapped.
In an exclusive interview, Amy tells The Sun that when their fling fizzled out in 2013, those around the star wanted them to pretend they were still together – but she refused as she didn’t want to be part of a ‘showmance’.
Amy, 31, tells us: “In hindsight, if I’d been less naïve, then having some kind of relationship would have been good for my career.
“I wanted to have something real.
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“I didn’t want to play the game. I wasn’t up for the whole playing pretend couple, that was a bit too far for me.”
Now, Joey, 33, has headed into Love Island after a series of tumultuous and failed relationships.
Currently, he is coupled up in the villa with Samantha Kenny, 26, after arriving as a bombshell.
But fans think he has got the ick after she revealed that she is a TOWIE megafan.
Learning about Joey’s latest exploits heading into civilian Love Island leaves Amy giggling.
But she wishes him best in his long-running quest to find love.
She said: “I’m sure he’ll have fun. He’s a sweet guy, but I learnt that he is quite ruthless when it comes to his career.
“I hope he really is ready to meet someone. He’d be a loving partner, but only when he is ready.”
Before heading into the villa, Joey told The Sun that he had struggled with previous relationships and hoped to find “someone to like me for me”.
He added: “This is exactly why I’m going into the Villa because you’re disconnected from the rest of the world and can focus on what actually matters on a far deeper level.
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“This is why the experience means so much to me because I can’t wait to get to know people on that level.
“I think eventually people in the Villa will just see that I’m a normal guy and someone who is exactly the same as them.”
I’m a Celeb favourites
Fans fell for the youngsters while they bonded in the jungle in 2013 and at times Amy even helped Joey wash his hair in the famous waterfall shower.
The former Miss GB appeared on the hit ITV reality show alongside swimmer Rebecca Adlington, Emmerdale’s Lucy Pargeter and Westlife’s Kian Egan.
Amy and Joey were both eliminated on the same day. However, she claims things weren’t as romantic as they appeared on the telly – and that it was actually in the days after the show that she fell for him, which led to a brief fling.
“If I look back, I don’t really understand why I went there with Joey,” she said.
“On the show, he was more like a brother to me, but then something changed.”
While Amy wanted to keep details about their romance under wraps, Joey didn’t hesitate to write about it in his 2014 autobiography Being Reem.
He claimed that they had sex on their second night out of the camp and couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the flight home.
I wasn’t up for the whole playing pretend couple, that was a bit too far for me
Amy Willerton
Joey said: “Seven hours into the Emirates flight, we crept out of our seats and went up different aisles to the toilets.
“Once we got inside, we stood in there kissing passionately for what seemed like ages.
“When we crept out again, I was really para[noid] that people were looking at us.
“I was convinced the people who worked behind the bar knew what we’d been up to.
“I could see it in their eyes.”
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The pair are thought to have lasted just a few weeks after the ITV competition as things fizzled out, and Amy has never bothered to read Joey’s autobiography.
After they went their separate ways, she explained: “I still fancy him, but I don’t want to be the next Katie Price and Peter Andre.”
‘Outside influences’
Reflecting on happier times in the camp, she recalls Joey as “sweet, loving, and caring,” but once they returned to the real world, everything changed.
The Joey she had come to know was no more and “outside influences changed him”, she claims.
She previously told Now magazine: “If someone says to you: ‘Hey, let’s be in a fake relationship!’ you’re like: ‘No, that’s not what I want!’ I didn’t even know that kind of thing went on.”
Amy says his priority was furthering his career and that he was “ruthless” when it came to getting ahead.
She says she couldn’t compete with his ambition and it led to them breaking up, which left her heartbroken.
“I was 21, and I got my heart ripped out of me as I was struggling with all the attention that came from being in the jungle,” Amy said.
“It was all just overwhelming.”
Earlier this month, Joey told The Sun that he had learned a lot from previous relationships.
“You have to take everything with a pinch of salt, it’s pointless overthinking things, what will be will be,” he said.
“When you’re in a relationship with someone and you’re in the public eye I always try to keep it private but if you’re pictured together people are bound to talk about it.”
New life
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Ironically, going into the Jungle was Amy’s back-up plan if things didn’t go well at Miss Universe.
She said: “The jungle was my Plan B, and yet it was still a big dream of mine.
“Both were amazing opportunities that have led to so many things for me. I just feel really lucky I’ve been able to experience it all.
“I definitely need to stop having back-up plans.
“If I’ve learned anything it’s that you need to wholeheartedly commit to things and by doing that you can really make your dreams come true.
“I was the token bikini girl, which is a role I felt safe in, but I’ve always been ready to do more for the world.”
Love Island line-up 2024
Love Island is back on the box with a brand new batch of sexy islanders all looking for love this summer.
The Girls
The boys
Dumped:
- Sam Taylor – Hairdresser Sam Taylor was first to go after Joey Essex stole his girl.
New life
Now, Amy enjoys a life away from the spotlight with her young daughter, Demelza, four, between Ibiza and Dubai.
While she is thankful for her beauty, she prefers to look at life in a more spiritual way.
Her followers are regularly treated to inspirational quotes and yoga workouts on social media, where she shares snippets from her stripped-back lifestyle.
She decided she needed something else after realising that fame wasn’t everything she thought it would be.
Amy said: “I realised I wanted a deeper meaning in my life and I had achieved my goal of being famous and wealthy, but something was still missing. I kept asking myself what I wanted, and I realised I wanted to find the joy from life.
“So I switched my perspective from being quite materialistic to wanting to be more internal and seek beauty in life and the world.
“Moving away from the UK helped me to move onto this beautiful journey focusing on things that I enjoy and love.”
This newfound spiritualism is directly influencing how she brings up Demelza – with her former fiancée Daniel, 29, being the stricter parent of the two.
She would never stop her little girl from following in her footsteps and going into beauty pageants or anything else.
As far as Amy is concerned, her job is to be “standing there with a safety net to catch her if she needs it”.
Joey Essex’s representatives declined to comment after being contacted by The Sun.