90s star
Peter Andre on his fame: “Regret my arrogance”
Peter Andre was a celebrated pop star in the mid ’90s
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He was the one who always undressed on stage: Peter Andre celebrated success as a pop star in the mid-90s. Looking back today, he regrets a few things.
A palm beach in Thailand, a model in a bikini under a waterfall and a muscular Peter Andre shirtless in the sea: That Video for “Mysterious Girl” ran in what felt like an endless loop on MTV and Viva in the mid-90s. It was the first big hit by singer Peter Andre, a London native who grew up in Australia and won a talent show there aged 16.
“While I was polite to people at the peak of my pop career, I also had a certain arrogance that I now regret,” Andre says, looking back. But he understands how it could have happened. “I was number one and the hysteria from the fans was crazy. First I was this shy kid and then I had this huge confidence because I was touring the world and going to incredible places,” says the 48-year-old.
Body cult: Peter Andre has a difficult relationship with food
His shirtless performances were his trademark at the time, but the image came at a high price. “I definitely have a very complex, emotional relationship with food. I don’t know if you could call it an eating disorder, but from the age of 15 to almost 30 I was very careful about what I ate,” he says. At that time he did sit-ups and push-ups every morning right after getting up. In his 30s he then gained a lot of weight and lost weight again, starting a career as a participant in reality TV formats in England such as the jungle camp. There he met the model Katie Price in 2004, got married and had two children with her. In 2009 the marriage was divorced.
Today he lives in the countryside of South West England, his second marriage is to a doctor, with whom he also has two children. He runs his own fitness and health app. “I was at the top for the first part of my career, but I realized how fragile fame can be and what a vulnerable position it puts you in,” said Andre. He is now at the point where he can watch the whole thing from a distance and enjoy it on the second or third comeback. Nevertheless, he never wanted to show his upper body in public again, it would only be compared to his younger, well-trained self. “Maybe for fun – but that’s unlikely.”