JJ Slater, 31, breaks his silence on five-month romance with Katie Price, 45, and says the pair are already talking about marriage as he defends their 14-year age gap

JJ Slater has opened up about his five-month romance with Katie Price for the first time, revealing the pair are already talking about marriage.

The Married At First Sight UK star, 31, who is 14 years Katie’s junior, spoke exclusively to MailOnline about his relationship with the mum-of-five, 45, who he says makes him very ‘happy’.

After Katie contacted JJ in December to send her well wishes following his diabetes diagnosis, the pair met for a casual coffee and the attraction between them was instant.

And now JJ, who found fame on the E4 series last year, wishes it could have been Katie waiting for him down the aisle as he admits to falling head over heels for the former glamor model.

He even admits to messaging Katie years ago in an attempt to spark up a romance, but was ignored until he caught the TV star’s eye when she was watching the Channel 4 show.

JJ said: ‘It wasn’t something I was looking for… I’d been on Married At First Sight UK which was a stressful and intense experience, but with Kate and I… it just happened super naturally.

‘We met for coffee and met as friends and we got on really well as friends and it developed from there, which was really nice. There was no pressure, we both just really wanted to and liked each other.

‘Kate actually reached out when she heard about my diabetes diagnosis and said she was really sorry to hear this and again, something good has come out of it… is Kate. She was friendly, which I appreciated, and it went from there…

“Obviously she’s a very, very attractive lady and I like her, she’s my girlfriend now… but I always thought she was fit.”

Katie has been married three times to singer Peter Andre, 51, with whom she shares children Junior, 18, and Princess, 16, former cage fighter Alex Reid, 48, and personal trainer Kieran Hayler, 37, who is the father of her youngest two. Jett, 10, and Bunny, nine.

The former Loose Woman is also mum to son Harvey, 21, who has septo-optic dysplasia, which causes blindness and growth hormone deficiency; Prader-Willi syndrome, as well as ADHD and autism, from her previous relationship with football player Dwight Yorke, 52.

Katie’s romantic life has seen her engaged eight times, including to ex-partners Warren Furman, Scott Sullivan, Leandro Penna, Kris Boyson and most recently former Love Island contestant Carl Woods.

Meanwhile, JJ attended a televised wedding last year, marrying Bianca Petronzi before starting a new romance with Ella Morgan, who was the Channel 4 show’s first transgender bride.

But the fashion brand owner’s experience on the reality series – and Katie’s three failed marriages – has not deterred him from settling down with the model and says they are already planning their future together.

He said: ‘It would have been ideal at Married at First Sight if I was at the altar and I turned around and it was Kate going down. It would have saved a lot of time.

‘We’ve said the L word. The thing is, we get along so well and have so much fun together.

‘All I really want to do is make sure Kate is happy, support her and be there for her, that she’s happy means I’m doing something right.

‘We’re both adults and I wouldn’t be with someone if I didn’t see a future with them. So that’s how I see it… we’re not together to waste each other’s time… we’re adults so of course I see a future with her.

“Like any normal relationship you develop when it feels natural and right and with me and Kate we feel happy, we spend a lot of time together, we date, we go on nice, relaxed dates like the cinema, food, we have been to some events but if it continues as it is… it will only be a great future for us.’

JJ insists he’s not at all concerned about his and Katie’s 14-year age difference, saying all that matters is that the pair are on the same page.

He added: ‘The funny thing is I had sent a message to Kate years before but she never opened it, which she has now found.

‘With our age… It’s not even a consideration… age doesn’t matter at all; age is just a number and when you are older it is not a problem. We’re both on the same page and wavelength and that’s all that matters.’

The couple have faced their fair share of trolls since going public with their relationship in February, with some doubting that their feelings for each other are the real thing.

But JJ, who owns clothing brand Fully Blessed, says they don’t mind the cynics, explaining: ‘We’re just normal people trying to get on with life and be happy, it doesn’t feel any different. I’ve learned not to take everything to heart.’

It’s been over a year since JJ filmed MAFS, where he and bride Bianca failed to be intimate.

But his attention quickly turned to Ella, whom he valued as a close friend last year after they called time on their romance at the end of the TV experiment.

Now he has revealed that although there is no animosity between him and Ella, they are no longer on speaking terms.

He said: ‘It feels surreal, in a weird way it feels like MAFS didn’t happen.

‘Time has flown by and when you’re in the experiment, you’re in the bubble and you’re so on top of it and everything feels intense, whereas now it’s been a year, you think, ‘Why did I let myself get so worked up and stressed?’ You cannot control how you feel or how you act when you are in such an experiment.

“Me and Ella don’t talk but there’s nothing bad… we’ve split up and gone our separate ways but if I saw her at an event it would be very friendly… but no we don’t talk .”