Neighbours of Olivia Attwood and her newly estranged husband Bradley Dack have been whispering for months that all is not well between the couple.

One tells me for some time they had ‘looked like they hated one another’ whenever they were spotted near their lavish new-build apartment on the River Thames – where neighbours include the likes of Roman Kemp and Romeo Beckham.

After months of speculation surrounding their two-year marriage, the inevitable finally happened last Sunday. News of the split was leaked to a red-top newspaper, which over the years has written a string of favourable stories about former Love Islander and The Only Way Is Essex star Olivia. Conveniently, the blame landed firmly at Dack’s door.

Olivia, we were told, was heartbroken and footballer Dack – who plays for League Two side Gillingham – had ‘crossed a line’.

‘Olivia and Bradley are taking time apart due to a breach of trust on Bradley’s side,’ said the source.

But sources tell me the ‘exclusive’ story was not the result of rugged journalistic investigation, but a strategically placed piece by Olivia’s team – hence its conspicuously sympathetic tone.

There was also a glaring omission: there was no mention whatsoever of Olivia’s very close friendship with her TOWIE co-star Pete Wicks, nor the swirling rumours that have followed them for months.

And I know why.

Bradley Dack and Olivia Attwood’s marriage has come to an end after nearly three years

Olivia was photographed cuddling The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks in Ibiza last summer

I can reveal there has been ‘panic’ behind the scenes over Olivia and Pete ever since they struck up a friendship after hosting the weekend radio show Sunday Roast on Kiss FM together – prompting a carefully orchestrated PR operation to swing into action.

Last week, as her marriage hit a crisis point, Olivia – who hosts ITV shows including Bad Boyfriends and Getting Filthy Rich – quietly hired a personal publicist.

And with the TV channel desperate for her to remain their Golden Girl, perhaps it is no surprise that she turned to Callum Bracken, a former ITV publicity manager.

A well-placed associate of both Olivia, 34, and Bradley tells me: ‘The situation has been chaotic for months. Olivia didn’t know what to do and neither did her agents, so she hired a personal PR.

‘She’s been terrified that her personal life was about to overshadow her professional one. It’s been chaos with everyone panicking about how she could get out of her marriage unscathed.

‘It was suggested that she hire Callum Bracken because of his links to ITV – and she did. It seemed like the perfect solution. ITV loves Olivia, they have big plans for her this year and so the last thing they want around her is crisis and negative press.’

Meanwhile, Pete’s camp has reportedly been ‘stressing’ over what the rumours could mean for him – particularly if he were seen as being connected to the collapse of Olivia’s marriage.

A source close to the former TOWIE star – who previously dated Love Island star Maura Higgins and singer Megan McKenna – tells me: ‘It has been an absolute nightmare. Everyone has been at loggerheads about how to deal with the situation and what it means for Pete when he has done nothing wrong.’

The frantic attempts at damage control invite questions about what is really going on – particularly given there has never been any proof Olivia and Pete, who won a host of fans when he appeared on Strictly, have been anything more than friends.

But rumours to the contrary began last summer, when the bikini-clad star was pictured snuggled up to Pete on a yacht in Ibiza, his arm wrapped around her waist as they partied while working for Kiss FM.

Those close to Olivia – who previously dated her Love Island co-star Chris Hughes – suggest the marital split had become inevitable due to her ‘close friendship’ with Pete.

One friend even cheekily quipped: ‘There were three people in the marriage. Liv, Brad… and Pete Wicks. Olivia and Pete worked so hard together.’

The footballer and TV host recently sold their marital home in Cheshire to live in south London

Just hours after the split was confirmed, Olivia was photographed looking downcast while grabbing coffee outside Kiss FM alongside her so-called ‘work husband’ Pete.

Olivia was still sporting a black eye – something she briefly addressed in a video posted to social media the day before.

She said: ‘I’m in Hamburg, baby. Just a quick update from me and my black eye. This is going to be a terrible f**king year if you don’t like me because I am going to be everywhere.’

But she did not explain how she sustained the injury.

One thing’s for sure: all the signs of an impending split have been gathering for some time.

Olivia and Bradley, 32, recently sold their marital home in Cheshire to live in their south-London apartment full-time. One onlooker who saw them two weeks ago revealed the strain in their relationship was palpable.

They said: ‘Things did not seem right between them at all. I was actually shocked at how they were with each other. It was like they couldn’t stand each other, and he seemed very intense as they walked around the shops. They were not happy at all.

‘It’s really sad, they were so in love when they first met and there was such a great hope that Bradley was The One.’

Indeed, speaking on her podcast Olivia’s House, the former Love Island star admitted the marriage had been struggling for over a year.

‘At the end of the day, marriage really is f***ing hard,’ she said. ‘The rumour mill was in full swing. We really weren’t getting on very well.’

The real tragedy is that the writing was on the wall from the start.

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Olivia and Bradley met before they both became famous, crossing paths in a London nightclub when he was 21 and she was 24.

‘She made me laugh,’ Bradley said. ‘I fell in love with her personality.’

But early cracks soon appeared. Olivia was approached by producers on Love Island, but turned down the offer twice – first after landing modelling contracts, then again because she was dating Bradley.

But, in 2017, she was called by another woman who claimed she was Bradley’s girlfriend.

Olivia later revealed: ‘We had a chat and, basically, [he] had been seeing her as well as me.’

Hurt, Olivia agreed to join the cast of Love Island.

But after leaving the villa, she gave Bradley another chance and they married in a lavish ceremony at London’s Bulgari Hotel in 2023.

The wedding reportedly cost £200,000 — including a £30,000 bespoke off-the-shoulder lace gown by designer Galia Lahav.

‘It’s such a sad ending,’ says one friend.

‘But let’s see what happens next in Olivia’s romantic life.’