Megan McKenna has claimed she didn’t cheat on Pete Wicks with her ex-boyfriend.
The ‘Only Way is Essex’ star sparked rumours she’d been unfaithful to the heavily-inked hunk – who she has dated on and off since the beginning of last year – after she was accused of meeting her former flame Harry Eden while they were still together.
But her close friends are adamant she only started speaking and meeting her old boyfriend – who she dated before she found fame – after she and Pete split up.
A source told The Sun Online: "Megan has not been ‘meeting up with Harry for months’.
"The first time they met up was last week when Megan was single. They had no contact at all while Megan was in a relationship with Pete. Megan never cheated on Pete or sexted anybody whilst they were in a relationship – unlike Pete…"
The 28-year-old star set tongues wagging earlier this week when it was reported that he had told his friends he felt like a "mug" for standing by the brunette beauty, 25.
A source said at the time: "Megan has been meeting her ex in secret for months and now he feels like a mug for standing by her. Pals warned Pete months ago that Megan was still seeing her ex, but he refused to believe them because he loved her.
"Everyone told him to leave Megan but he was adamant they could make it work. It came out on the show that she had been at after parties with her ex and pals, including some of the ‘TOWIE’ cast, knew then that it was more than that, but Pete chose to trust her and believe she was being honest with him."
And, although it’s still early days for Megan and Harry, it’s believed they are determined to make a go of things because they have an undeniable bond.
The insider said: "Megan has always had this bond with Harry. It’s no surprise she turned to him when things got hard with Pete and now she’s single they’re seeing how things go before deciding whether to go for a full on relationship."