Gareth Gates took break from fame after losing virginity to Katie Price

12 July 2016

Gareth Gates took a break from fame after sleeping with Katie Price.

Katie Price

The 32-year-old singer was just 17 when he lost his virginity to the former glamour model - who was pregnant with son Harvey at the time - and says the media hype surrounding their night of passion made him decide to take a break from the industry.

He said: "It wasn't too long after that I decided to take a break from industry. It wasn't the reason I wanted to be a pop star. There are stars out there for the wrong reason. I wanted to be recognised for my talent."

And the former 'Pop Idol' contestant also revealed he denied that it had happened at the time because he didn't want his family to find out about his sex life.

He added to new! magazine: "I denied the whole Jordan thing because I was 17, I didn't want my family to find out about my sex life. If I hadn't of lied it wouldn't have been a big deal, my family, friends and fans wouldn't have felt as let down I guess.

"For me I was very young, I had to say I don't want to have a long term relationship at this age, so she sold the story, and I said it was all lies. The only thing I thought in my head to do was say it had never happened, I felt I had to because I didn't want my family to know about my sex life, I didn't tell anyone my family or friends, so they all backed me."

Meanwhile, Katie previously admitted she regretted what happened.

She said: "It's terrible - I was still young, I was pregnant, I didn't have the dad about and I still wanted to be loved. It was wrong when I look back. It was over in seconds!"