Vicky Pattison and Mario Falcone were once as bizarre a couple as Cheryl and Liam Payne – but the two are actually sort-of living together and embarking on quite the romance. WE KNOW. IT'S MAD.
As heat reported in February 2015, Mario first made a move on Vicky when she'd dropped a load of weight off the back of her health kick – but she "messed it up" and didn't think she had another chance with him.
Since then, the pair have been spotted out on dates and were even papped snogging on Mario's doorstep a few weeks ago.
And now, heat can reveal that the couple are dating but Vicky is too embarrassed to go public with him.
An insider close to the ex-Geordie Shore star told us: "Vicky's really attracted to Mario – she thinks he's gorgeous and they're having a great time.
"He's been trying to get her on a date for a year, but it only really got romantic a couple of months ago between them."
However, Vicky's the one urging Mario to take it slow – and it's all because of his TOWIE reputation as a cheater (he cheated on ex-fiancee Lucy Mecklenburgh with a string of women).
"She worries that it could all be over really quickly and she hates the idea she might end up looking like a mug in public and being embarrassed by him," our mole added.
As part of her 'playing down' routine, Vicky's been tweeting about going on a celebrity version of Love Island – which, let it be stated for the record, heatworld would be totally down for.
Read the whole story (plus LOADS more) in this week's heat mag, out now