Love, Lipstick and Lies (16 page)

While the work was being done we stayed with my friends Jane and Derek and I also had a log cabin built next to the house so that we could stay there temporarily. The tabloids made out it was a shack. I promise you, it was far from being that! It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open-plan kitchen and living room … not exactly what I would call a shack.

It was such a relief to leave the old house in Surrey, the background to my two failed marriages. I couldn’t help feeling that the place was cursed in some way, a misery mansion. I’d often heard strange noises when I was living there (no, not from Roxanne) and weird things would happen, like water suddenly pouring out of taps without anyone turning them on. Strangely enough the same thing happened when I moved into the new house so perhaps it’s me, perhaps I give off a weird energy … who knows?

In August we went off on holiday for a month to Marbella with the children and some of my friends, while the house was being done up. I rented a luxury
villa with a pool. It was brilliant spending that relaxed time with the kids. But things still weren’t going at all well with Leo. In fact, by now everything he did annoyed me. The lack of a job, the lack of money, the way he always wanted to have sex … even his personal habits when he was asleep in bed. Everything! He probably only had to breathe for me to feel irritated. I was totally off him. I didn’t look at him and think he was good-looking any more. I thought, You absolute ponce!

It felt like I had another child to look after, not an equal. He had made out that he was a successful model and TV presenter in Argentina, and the way he had treated me and paid for nearly everything during my visit there had led me to believe that he had plenty of money. But it was becoming clear that he had very little. At first he claimed that his credit cards weren’t working as he was abroad and he was having problems transferring his money, which was plausible the first few times but surely by now the problem would have been resolved? He didn’t treat me to anything and nor did he contribute anything towards living in the house. And yet, whenever we went out shopping, he would always head for the most expensive designer stores; he was a man with a taste for luxury. He would spend ages trying on clothes and all the assistants would be telling him how good he looked. Yes, he definitely looked the part, I’ll give him that. But he rarely bought anything. When we were in Marbella I remember going into Dolce & Gabbana with him. He tried on all these designer tops
and looked the nuts in them. He acted as if he could afford to buy anything he wanted, and it was only because he didn’t know which one to choose that he walked out without buying anything.

And that reminded me of the time in Brighton when we were in a designer boutique. He went to pay for the designer tops and boxers he had chosen, but his card kept getting declined. In the end I’d paid. And yet whenever we went out to eat with friends he would always make a grand gesture and pay for everybody. But believe me, that was it.

His sister and her husband and two of their friends came to visit us in Marbella. Of course I wanted them to have a good time because of the hospitality that she had shown me in Argentina. I did really like her. But Leo made a big fuss about how everything had to be right for their stay and insisted we have a special barbecue. That meant a big food shop. (Guess who paid?) And when they arrived he gave them a tour of the villa and grounds, and I got the feeling that he was boasting about where we were staying. It was as if he was putting on a show, saying, ‘Look what I’ve got with her.’ And in a way I was part of that show because I pretended to be happy when they arrived since I didn’t want to upset his sister, even though I really wasn’t getting on with Leo.

Suddenly he wanted to go out in Marbella so that, I reckoned, he could be seen with me, showing off to his sister and friends how we were followed everywhere by
the paps. One night something happened to make me mistrust her friends. We were in a restaurant and one of them was taking pictures of our group with their phone. I said, ‘Oh, let’s see them,’ as you do. And as my friend Jane and I looked through them we found pictures of me sunbathing topless. I was furious and instantly deleted them.

In September Leo flew back to Argentina as he had an ongoing court case with the mother of his daughter. I think being around my children had maybe made him realise what he was missing out on and he wanted to become more involved. I think he was also motivated by the way the child’s mother had done a series of stories on him over there, and didn’t like having his name dragged through the mud.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief that I was going to have a break from him. After thinking that we had a perfect romance at the beginning, I now felt that the relationship didn’t have a future. It couldn’t unless Leo got a job and learned the language, and there was no sign that he was planning on doing either of those things. I didn’t miss him at all while he was away. I loved having space to myself, and not having to worry what he was doing and how he was feeling and if he was okay.

We limped on for a few weeks more when he returned, but my heart wasn’t in it, not one bit. His sister and her husband, their friends and his brother, came over for a visit and Leo insisted that they should stay in my pink horse lorry so that they could see my new house. The
log cabin wasn’t even finished and the whole house was like a building site. We were still staying with friends.

‘Why can’t they book into a hotel?’ I asked, baffled as to why anyone would choose to stay in my horse lorry, even though it’s a really flash one with a double bed and pull-out double bed, a small kitchen and bathroom.

‘No, no, they must come here,’ Leo went on. When they arrived he switched on all the lights along the driveway and in the indoor sand school. And again to me it felt as if he was saying, ‘Look at everything she has.’ I didn’t like that at all … But as it was Leo’s birthday, I put on my act that we were okay and arranged a whole night out for him and his family and friends, with a luxury limo picking us all up to take us to London to a restaurant and then on to a club. But Leo didn’t seem to appreciate any of it. At the club I was talking to ex-
TOWIE
star Lauren Goodger and I just wasn’t interested in being with him at all. In fact, I ignored him, thinking that he was with his family, and no doubt enjoying himself catching up with them. I had paid for the whole night and felt that I should be free to enjoy myself. Leo came over to where we were standing and was really aggressive. He was apparently jealous that Lauren and I were taking pictures together. I thought, OMG, you have got to go! I just didn’t want anything to do with him.

As soon as his family and friends had left I told him we needed to talk and we sat down, together with the translator – I wanted him to understand everything. I said, ‘It’s over, you have to leave.’

Leo got very emotional and cried. ‘Please, I want to stay. Please, I love you!’ he kept saying, over and over.

I could hardly bring myself to look at him; I couldn’t believe that this was the man I had fallen for. ‘Get him on the plane tonight,’ I told the translator.

I thought, Fuck you with your tears. You’ve had ages to change and get a job and get off your fucking arse. You’re suffocating me and annoying me. You don’t contribute anything to this family.

Just as I had paid for everything else, I paid for his ticket back to Argentina. Then he was driven off to Heathrow and out of my life, I hoped. But even when he was on the plane he sent me a picture of himself sitting in his seat and crying. Let me tell you, that was
not
going to win me back. We were finished and I wanted to enjoy myself. No more having to have sex with someone I didn’t want to have sex with. I was free at last!

In 2011 I began filming a series that I had wanted to do for years and which had been my idea:
Signed by Katie Price.
The idea was to find someone with the looks and personality to develop their own brand. I wanted to give someone a stepping-stone so that they could have a similar career to mine, with their own products, modelling shoots, calendars, perfume and TV show. I wasn’t looking for a new me – face it, there can only be one Pricey! I wanted to find someone who could achieve the same sort of success. To me, it was like bringing out another product, but this time I was expanding into people!

I wasn’t simply looking for a model. I wanted someone with more than good looks. They needed to have an aura, charm, presence, that all-important charisma,
be confident and articulate, plus have a good head for business. I knew it was a big ask but I wanted the works! The winner would be signed to Black Sheep Management, which manages me. I would support and mentor them, along with input from the management company.

The series kicked off with the auditions. I was one of the judges, along with Bayo Fulong, a renowned street-caster who casts major advertising campaigns, so he knows what’s hot and current and what’s about to be hot and is very commercially minded. Glen Middleman was the other judge. He is a TV executive with years of experience in the industry and knows exactly what makes good television and what audiences want. I was the judge who had strengths in both areas as well as my own unique take on the industry. I hit it off straight away with both judges; there was none of that behind-the-scenes bitching and backstabbing you sometimes get in other talent shows. They often played bad cop and were brutally truthful with contestants; I was more good cop, sugar-coating the bad news.

The auditions were held in four large shopping centres around the country (Bristol, Birmingham, London and Leeds). They lasted all day, often until really late, but I never got bored or complained … and I admit that I can be the first to moan if I think something is dragging on too long! I can honestly say that I loved every minute, especially as I saw the show as my baby. It was the first formatted show I had fronted on my own and I felt I was really broadening my TV experience.

The production team would meet the contestants first and vet them to see who was good enough, quirky enough and individual enough to put through, as all talent shows do. They all had to have the character to make good TV. Over 10,000 people auditioned.

The three judges sat on-stage in front of a live audience. The first time I went out there and saw the crowd, I thought, Bloody hell! I can’t do this! It was nerve-wracking initially, but I quickly got used to it and then enjoyed the adrenalin rush I got from performing in front of a crowd.

‘Next!’ I’d call out, and a set of pink (naturally) sliding doors would open to reveal the contestant. They had to strut their stuff along a catwalk while they were being photographed and end up standing in front of us, where they had to tell us something about themselves and then wait anxiously to hear our verdict. First up we saw them in their regular clothes and then they had to make a quick change back-stage into their bikinis or swimming shorts. I’d dreamed up this part, knowing that if I was at home watching the show, that’s exactly how I would like the contestants to appear.

I hated upsetting people and giving them bad news. People think I’m bolshie and outspoken but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I didn’t want to be the baddie who destroyed their hopes, especially when some contestants begged for a place, saying,
‘Please!
Just give me a chance.’ It really tugged at my heartstrings. But there
were only a certain number of places so we had to be strict.

It was so hard knowing what to say when you had someone standing in front of you who thought that they had what it takes, when it was completely obvious to everyone else that they hadn’t. And I had to be the one to break their hearts and shatter their dreams, by saying, ‘Sorry, you’re not what we’re looking for.’ Most people accepted it, but there were some who were so deluded about themselves that they argued back. Then I had to say, ‘Look at your attitude! You won’t get anywhere being like that. In this industry you’re going to get criticised. If you can’t even take that at your first audition, what hope have you got?’

Some moments were pure cringe, especially with the contestants who thought that they had what it took to be famous, but so hadn’t. I felt sorry for them. They didn’t have the attitude or the body. Or there were those who had great personalities but who looked minging! Then I would have to tell them how awful they looked. Often they simply wouldn’t believe me, and would exclaim, ‘What do you mean? I spent ages getting ready, how can you say that!’ Or we’d get contestants who really didn’t have the looks and told us that they already were a model. And I would think, Well, what the f*** have you been modelling! I think someone must have been leading you up the garden path. You do get some unscrupulous model agencies who take money for a six-week course and tell people
that they’re going to be the next big thing, when they haven’t got a chance in hell.

Rylan Clark stood out a mile at the auditions. I just loved his personality, his humour and warmth. True, he didn’t have a muscular, pumped-up body like some of the other boys, but he had so much natural charisma. Amongst the girls Amy Willerton stood out for her incredible body.

Out of the auditions we had to choose fifty contestants for Bootcamp. Here they were going to be set different tasks and challenges, either working with a group or on their own, to find out what kind of business mind they had and how good they were at coming up with ideas for products and marketing them.

Day one of Bootcamp was brutal. All fifty contestants arrived by coach expecting to take part, and within an hour we had split them up and told about half of them that they were going home. They’d had no idea that this might be on the cards. I really felt for them because they would have taken a day off work and spent all morning getting ready, thinking that they were in with a chance, only to be told that they were out. That was one of my worst moments from the series, having to stand in front of those contestants and tell them that they weren’t through. I absolutely hated doing it. I thought it was too cruel. The aim was to produce a dramatic scene, and I’m afraid that’s TV for you. If you don’t like the heat …