NINTH TIME LUCKY? 👀 Inside the Cynical Whispers Rocking Katie Price’s Shock Engagement — The Timing, the ‘Horrible’ Motive Suspected, Her Fiancé’s Wild Backstory… and Why Friends Say She’s ‘Unlikely’ to Reach the Altar

For all her years in the spotlight, Katie Price has never quite mastered the art of stepping aside and letting someone else enjoy their moment.

Friends have long claimed the former glamour model becomes restless — even depressed — if her name or face disappears from headlines for more than a fortnight. And when news broke earlier this month that her ex-husband Peter Andre was preparing to release his first album in more than a decade, many believe Katie knew exactly how to respond.

On Friday — the very same day Peter launched a full-scale promotional push for his musical comeback — Katie stunned her 2.7 million Instagram followers by announcing she was engaged once again. It marked her ninth engagement in 30 years.

While Peter, 52, spent the day urging fans to pre-order his new single and teasing what he described as a long-awaited return, it was Katie’s post just hours later that truly stopped the internet in its tracks.

A glossy series of photographs, taken inside Dubai’s lavish Jumeirah Burj Al Arab hotel, revealed the star posing by a hot tub with champagne in hand. Scattered at her feet were red rose petals and flickering tealights spelling out the unmistakable message: Will you marry me?

If that wasn’t clear enough, there was also the enormous diamond ring gleaming on her left hand.

The man beside her was Dubai-based entrepreneur Lee Andrews — also known as Weslee or “Lee” — who appeared in several of the images and proudly displayed a fresh tattoo of Katie’s name inked on the back of his hand.

But instead of fairy-tale cheers, the announcement triggered a wave of deeply cynical whispers.

Not only did the engagement come just two weeks after Katie publicly split from former boyfriend JJ Slater, but insiders have accused her of deliberately timing the reveal to hijack Peter Andre’s moment.

As one source put it:
“Katie can’t be without a man. She craves male attention and will do anything to keep herself in the headlines. People are wondering if any of it is even real — or just Katie being Katie.”

“The fact is, Peter released his single hours earlier. There’s no way Katie would let Pete have the attention while she had none. It’s classic Katie. She’s done it for years.”

Friends even claim this pattern has extended to her children.

Just days before the launch of daughter Princess Andre’s ITV reality show The Princess Diaries last year, Katie publicly complained she was “upset” after being excluded from filming — including scenes marking Princess’s 18th birthday — effectively pulling the spotlight back onto herself.

“Katie just can’t help it,” the source said. “We saw it when Princess was enjoying her first taste of fame. Katie made it all about her again. She’s an attention-seeker — and she can be a horrible one.”

The timing of this latest announcement has also fuelled concern about Katie’s wellbeing.

Only last week, fans expressed alarm after photos emerged of her appearing “worryingly thin” during a shopping trip in central London. Some claimed she “didn’t look well” and urged her to seek help — which Katie later said she was doing.

Yet days later, she was boarding a flight to Dubai.

Celebrating the engagement online, Katie shared images of champagne, strawberries and chocolate cake, captioning them: “My Richard Gere [sic] swept me off my feet. Manifesting does work.”

In a video posted in the early hours of Saturday, Lee prompted her to show off the ring. Laughing, Katie told followers to “put your sunglasses on” before joking she had been “really spoilt.”

Lee, who has been married twice before, claimed the ring was “like 25 carats” and joked it would be “old news tomorrow” before kissing his fiancée.

According to his online profiles, Andrews describes himself as CEO of Aura Group Future Urban Travel, a “defence contractor,” and a “visionary” with an alleged net worth of $1.5 billion. He also claims to hold a PhD in biotechnology from the University of Cambridge and has listed past links to The Prince’s Trust and the Labour Party — despite living in Dubai for two decades.

Before Katie, he was married to Palestinian health and fitness coach Dina Taji, whom he met at a Dubai gym in 2020.

Notably, his social media contained no trace of Katie at all before the engagement announcement — which he oddly captioned: “Congratulations to Katie Price & Lee Andrews.”

The speed and secrecy of the engagement has reportedly stunned those closest to Katie. JJ Slater, insiders say, was “blindsided,” having only just moved his belongings out of her home. Katie, it’s claimed, had doubted for some time whether he was “husband material.”

There are also questions over whether her five children were even aware their mother had met someone new — let alone planned another marriage.

“Katie never thinks about how her behaviour affects her children,” an insider said.

Her relationship history is long and turbulent. Since her first engagement at 18 to Gladiator star Warren Furman, Katie has been engaged nine times and married three — to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler. She is also mother to Harvey, 23, from a previous relationship with Dwight Yorke.

So will she actually make it down the aisle this time?

“It’s unlikely,” says one friend. “And if she does, it won’t last long. Katie is a mess — and nobody can work out what she’s really playing at.”

One thing, however, seems certain: as long as the spotlight remains fixed on Katie Price, the headlines are unlikely to stop coming.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/