BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks opens up on 'unfair' reason he's not had kids

Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks has opened up about his personal struggles that prevent him from settling down. Despite not being short of female attention and regularly being at the centre of romance speculations, the 36-year-old has revealed that he is currently single.

While it may be assumed that this is down to not meeting the right person as of yet, Pete says the reason for his single status goes much deeper. Opening up about his self-doubt and abandonment issues, he shared on the High Performance podcast: "As soon as that kind of closeness develops, I'm like, 'Right I'm off then', it's a case of leaving before someone leaves you.

"Again [abandonment issues], that's a really common thing, but you're basically self-sabotaging and this is the control freak part, at least I'm in control of that."

Sharing his changing perspective on family life, he added: "I never thought I wanted to get married or have kids, and again over the last few years [I've realised that] I would love to get married," reports Birmingham Live.

"I would love to have kids, but I'm not in a position to be able to do that yet, because there is so much weird stuff in my head, that that would be so unfair for me to go and do that."

Addressing his hopes for the future, he admitted he would like to share his life with somebody and settle down, but was also OK with the thought of it not happening.

For now, Pete is figuring out what makes him happy and has been making small changes in his lifestyle to explore this path.

This includes avoiding his phone first thing in the morning, spending quality time with his dogs, and taking a break from the world on his motorbike. The reality star also attributes his current participation in Strictly Come Dancing as a thrilling new journey that pushes him out of his comfort zone.

Pete is currently partnered with the show's professional dancer Jowita Przystał, who was the 2022 pro champion alongside Hamza Yassin.

Tonight, the dancing duo will be showcasing their energy with a Quickstep to Town Called Malice by The Jam, in the hope of making it through to another week.

Strictly Come Dancing airs tonight at 6.20pm on BBC One.