14 DAY TRIAL // When Peter Andre announced that he had decided to divorce his wife of almost four years, the media was taken aback. For a couple that had lived every single moment of their married existence under the glare of the camera, the two managing to keep such a huge secret as divorce is for this long inevitably led to some serious questions. As Peter and Katie are already dividing their assets and their popularity is soaring, speculation is slowly building up that this is yet another publicity stunt.
Granted, the two have always had a volatile relationship, with rows that often erupted as they were filming for their reality series. In all fairness, they never tried to hide the fact that they too fought just like any other couple, and had problems with who made more money, and who got to take the kids to school. Again, for two celebrities who made most of their fortune by selling their personal lives to the media, keeping such a secret seems odd, if not downright impossible.
“Although she insists that this week’s separation from Peter Andre was his idea, and that she is ‘devastated,’ some people suspect that the whole affair could be a tawdry publicity stunt cooked up by Katie herself. She’s got her fourth autobiography coming out and he is about to release an album full of gut-wrenching ballads about losing the woman he loves. It’s hard not to smell a rat.” the Daily Mail writes, citing sources close to the glamour model who are willing to swear, if necessary, that she’s been preparing for this for weeks.
It’s not as if Katie is poor or anything (she’s worth an estimated £30 million), but her popularity has seen a sharp decrease in recent months, the British media is saying. Staging a breakup would pave the way for a genuine media storm that would include heartbreaking interviews, revealing sit-downs on TV, and plenty of pictures and, of course, tears and drama. All of this would also translate into hefty paychecks that both Katie and Peter would cash in, not to mention the huge amount of attention that will also go on their careers.
“Several well-placed sources insisted to me yesterday that Katie Price is, in fact, already in the arms of OK! magazine and planning to do a full talk – for money, of course – about the ‘end’ of the relationship. We can expect to pay £2.95 to read all about it next Tuesday. The theory is that this moneyspinning interview about her heartbreak will be followed by a reconciliation with Andre – again sold to the highest bidder. More lucrative interviews about their renewed love would follow, topped perhaps by a renewal of their wedding vows (it would be their second renewal), yet again sold to TV and magazines. Perhaps £1.5million could come her way as a result – not bad for a few weeks’ work.” the Mail says.