EVER since their savage split seven years ago, there’s been no love lost between exes Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood.
But now the frosty relationship between the two former Love Islanders has a new battleground: ITV’s This Morning.
Insiders tell The Sun that Olivia landing a gig guest-hosting the daytime stalwart this summer has caused headaches for bosses behind the scenes, as Chris also has a roving reporter gig on the long-running show.
And our moles tell us it’s Chris, in particular, who has been left shaken by the news.
Our sources revealed: “Chris has been doing regular presenting gigs on location for This Morning ever since Celebrity Big Brother.
“He was starting to build up a really good relationship with the producers on the show and was hoping it would lead to more regular appearances over the summer - including a potential spot on the sofa or in the studio.
“Olivia coming on board to front the show for several dates over the next few weeks feels like a huge blow to him.
"He doesn’t want to have to do live crosses to his ex in front of the nation - it’s so awkward and he feels like the viewers will be scrutinising their every interaction and every little facial expression will be analysed. It’s the last thing he wants.”
While it's been seven years since the pair dated, according to a pal, Chris feels especially slighted by several comments Olivia made about him while he was in the Celebrity Big Brother house - particularly concerning his relationship with JoJo Siwa.
When Chris was on the show, Olivia, who has been married to footballer Bradley Dack since June 2023, claimed she had had therapy after dating him.
She also suggested he exhibited ‘creepy’ behaviour in the house with JoJo, who is 11 years his junior.
She said during one TikTok video: "The therapy was expensive and now I'm going to have to go back for another round because I'm getting trolled on this app and because every weird, creepy thing that happens, I'm getting tagged in it.”
She also suggested Chris was being fake for the cameras.
She added: “[Some] people, they go on reality TV, they are one person and when you experience them off camera… It's like shapeshifters."
And when asked directly on the social media platform what she thought of Chris’s romance with JoJo once they left the house, Olivia hinted Chris was leveraging the relationship for publicity, simply saying "she’s really famous".
'Golden girl of ITV daytime'
Naturally, none of this sat well with Chris.
“He was upset,” explains a friend. “He didn’t understand why she needed to comment on him at all, as he never mentions her publicly. He has always only said positive things about her, both at the time of the split and since then.
“Now, just when all that post-CBB stuff has died down and he is happy with JoJo and really busy with work, Liv lands a gig on This Morning.
“Chris was really shocked as she is a regular on Loose Women, so he didn’t expect her to cross over to the show he works on. He felt like they had their own patches and now that’s no longer the case.
"Liv’s basically the new golden girl of ITV daytime, and he worries he’s going to be phased out, especially as she is the one with the plum main presenter spot on the sofa and he is a smaller part of the This Morning family.
“Ultimately, if bosses have to choose between her and him, he fears he’ll be the more expendable one. He’s also really not someone who likes conflict, so he would rather walk away.”
For her part, however, sources close to Olivia insist she isn’t sweating it.
A friend of Olivia’s tells The Sun: “To be honest, it hadn’t even crossed her mind when she took the This Morning gig.
“Of course, she wouldn’t relish having to interact with Chris on camera, but she’s a professional at the end of the day.
“She’s focused on making the most of the summer hosting slot and doing her job well - who else is on the rota doesn’t concern her. When you work in telly, not everyone you work with is going to be your best mate.”
Ultimately, if bosses have to choose between her and him, he fears he’ll be the more expendable one. He’s also really not someone who likes conflict, so he would rather walk away
Insider
Behind the scenes, though, we understand producers are working hard to make sure the two don’t come into contact with each other.
Our source confirms: “They won’t be on air at the same time.
“The bosses are well aware that neither of them would want that, so they have had to look carefully at the scheduling.
“The last thing they want is viewers picking up on any friction.”
'Toxic' split
And there certainly seems to be no shortage of that between these two.
Their split in March 2018, just seven months after falling in love the previous summer, is the stuff of Love Island lore.
The pair had filmed a spin-off reality show, Chris and Olivia: Crackin’ On, which was intended to document their romance in the real world.
But instead, filming was dogged with rows; they split during the production and the number of planned episodes was slashed.
Indeed, Olivia even admitted she “hated” Chris once they were out of the villa bubble.
She said at the time: “I moved him into my own home, I mean like a week after leaving the villa. And we weren’t even getting on.
“So he moved in with a bag and was like, ‘I hate you.’ And I was like, ’I f***ing hate you.”
She later called the relationship “toxic” and admitted they were “horrible together”.
While The Sun has contacted reps for Chris and Olivia, as well as This Morning, for comment, we understand the show is keen to avoid any more ‘feud’ speculation surrounding its presenting family.
After all, the show has been rocked by a series of behind-the-scenes scandals in recent years.
Most notoriously, of course, was the epic fallout between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, which resulted in the former besties no longer speaking.
The last thing producers want is to rock that boat again, so they’ve decided it’s best if Olivia and Chris are kept apart on the airwaves
Insider
Amid the feud, Phil left the show after it emerged he had had an affair with a younger male colleague.
There was also tension between Phil and former Friday hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.
Ruth allegedly made a formal complaint about Phillip when he cut her off during a live cross to Loose Women.
And after Eamonn and Ruth were replaced on This Morning, Eamonn has frequently stuck the knife into Phil, branding him “addicted to fame”, "delusional" and a "liar".
Even away from Phil there have been multiple reports of disharmony within the This Morning family - even though the show itself has always strenuously denied this.
Speculation was rife that Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary had a ‘strained’ relationship when they were first thrown together on the sofa, with the pair both admitting there were some early teething problems before they formed the tight working relationship they have today.
The chemistry - or initial lack of it - was also a big talking point between Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley when they were hard- launched as the new main presenters in April 2023.
“They have the chemistry of two strangers on an awkward date,” one reviewer sniped, while acres of column inches were devoted to the show’s ratings dipping with the change of guard.
But one thing This Morning always manages to do, to its credit, is weather the storm and steady the ship.
An insider explains: “The show is very much on an even keel again after a few years of nightmare bad press. The last thing producers want is to rock that boat again, so they’ve decided it’s best if Olivia and Chris are kept apart on the airwaves.
“As far as they’re concerned, they are both valued members of the team and there is room for both of them, just not maybe on the same day.
“At the end of the day, as tricky as it can make things from a planning perspective, juggling presenters’ schedules is something ITV daytime producers are well-versed in.
“It’s no secret that there are a few of the Loose Women who don’t get on and you never see them on the same panel together, and it’s the same across the board.
“Chris and Olivia aren’t the first, and they certainly won’t be the last ITV pair who prefer to give the other a wide berth.”
