Lottie Tomlinson has opened up about her relationship with Caroline Flack’s ex Lewis Burton and admits that their ‘controversial’ romance did not begin as a ‘fairytale’.
The 26-year-old, who is the younger sister of One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, recently welcomed her second child with the former professional tennis player, but has revealed they have previously had conversations about how much ‘easier’ it would be go to their separate ways.
Speaking about their relationship in her book ‘Lucky Girl: My Journey from Heartbreak to Healing’, the mum-of-two acknowledges that many people did not support her relationship with Lewis and that the ‘pressure’ almost led them to split.
Lewis formerly dated Caroline and was in a relationship with the late presenter when she tragically took her own life in February 2020 at the age of just 40.
The former Love Island host was found dead in her home after learning that her assault trial involving her then-boyfriend Lewis would proceed despite initial indications of a caution.
Lottie started dating Lewis six months later, bonding over their recent experiences of grief and the couple have since gotten engaged – in November 2023 – and welcomed their two kids, Lucky, two, and Flossie, who was born last month.
However, she is aware that not everyone supported their relationship, including Caroline’s mother Christine, and admits she can ‘understand why people were put off’ when they announced their romance.
A source close to Caroline told Mail Online that the couple’s evident joy “must be devastating for Christine”.
The source added: “She has lost her daughter and now Lewis has become some kind of influencer with his girlfriend, living in apparent bliss and about to become a father for the second time.”
Lottie and Caroline were also connected through their mutual friend, Lou Teasdale, who was formerly One Direction’s hair and makeup stylist before they went on hiatus in 2015.
The 41-year-old had stayed over at Caroline’s home the night before she was found dead after suspecting that the late presenter was suicidal and had phoned for an ambulance. Sadly, the star took her own life later that same day.
Another insider claims that Christine is “no longer close” with her late daughter’s good friend Lou, who shares a close bond with Lottie and Lewis. It’s believed that Louise “not ditching Lewis” may be a “contributing factor” to their fading friendship.
Lottie wrote in her book: “Us coming together never began as a fairy tale. We focused on building a friendship first and were there for each other through our shared experiences. But we also couldn’t deny that we were attracted to each other.
“Because of the difficulty of Lewis’ personal situation when we were first getting to know each other, the pressure would get to us. Infact we had a few conversations around how much easier it would be for us to go our separate ways. Each time we agreed not to speak to each other anymore, that magnetism between us brought us back together.”
Lottie continued: “We couldn’t keep away from each other and in the end we thought, ‘Let’s just be together, and make a go of it’. By now I’d learned that I needed to work hard for the things I wanted and one of them was Lewis.”
The Tomlinson family have been through a lot in recent years with Lottie suffering the loss of her younger sister, Felicite Tomlinson, the year before she met Lewis.
The 18-year-old sister of Louis Tomlinson was found dead in her flat in March 2019 after an accidental fatal combination of drugs.
Their mother, Johannah Deakin, also passed away just a few years before in 2016 aged 43, from an aggressive battle with leukaemia.
Lottie’s grief was still very fresh for her when she met Lewis who was struggling to cope with the loss of Caroline and she claims that they were drawn to one another through their shared experiences.
Speaking about how their relationship unfolded in her book, she recalled: “When Lewis and I first met at a club we had a brief chat and that was it. But I immediately thought he was handsome and fancied him right away. I didn’t think those feelings were reciprocated though so I tried to put it to the back of my mind.
“Some time passed and we met again properly through mutual friends. Lewis and I instantly related to each other. We were going through similar situations as he had recently experienced a tragic loss and it felt natural to want to help him and to share with him the tools I’d learned through therapy and the two grief experiences I’d started to get to a better place with.”
She continued: “By the summer of 2020, we had committed to starting our relationship but those early days were still hard because it was clear that some people in the public and the press were against out relationship from the beginning and didn’t want us to be together.
“Despite this, my family were very supportive which allowed me to continue trusting my gut. I don’t want or need to get into the particulars of the backlash from the press as most people will know anyway and I’m not here to upset or offend anyone.
“If I were to distance myself from the situation as an outsider, I can understand why some people in the public were put off.”
Lottie defended their relationship, saying: “But I was on the inside and I knew who Lewis was as a person and that we couldn’t deny our feelings. During those early days of our relationship, the pressures of the outside forces really got to us I’ll admit and we wondered if we should split up to make our lives easier.
“But we had an undeniable bond that we couldn’t ignore and ultimately we had to fight through people’s misconceptions of us.
“To the outside world the nature of our relationship was seen as controversial and the press continued to push false narratives of us as a toxic couple. “
Caroline Flack’s mother is set to participate in a documentary investigating the former X-Factor host’s final months.
The “challenging” new documentary aims to address the many “unanswered questions” about the star’s passing and is expected to premiere on a streaming service later in 2025.