Chris Hughes 'fears he'll be phased out of This Morning job' as ex Olivia Attwood bags presenting gig and becomes 'golden girl of ITV daytime' - with bosses 'scrambling to keep them apart'
The pair first got together on the third series of Love Island in 2017, going on to feature in their own reality show Crackin' On before quickly splitting acrimoniously.
They have gone on to develop separate careers in the limelight, as some of the most successful stars to come out of the ITV2 dating show.
Olivia, 34, is now a regular Loose Women panellist as of 2023 and it was announced last month she would become a summer host on This Morning.
Meanwhile, Chris, 32, has recently re-entered the spotlight for his romance with American musician JoJo Siwa, 22, which developed in the Celebrity Big Brother house earlier this year.
Olivia has been vocal about her criticisms of this relationship - and now, Chris, also a contributor on This Morning, fears the two will clash again on the ITV chat show, according to an insider.
It is understood Olivia joining the programme has caused difficulties behind the scenes.
And Chris - who has worked as a roving reporter on the show since exiting the Big Brother house in April - is believed to be particularly anxious about it.
Sources told The Sun he had been hoping to capitalise on a growing relationship with ITV bosses to get a more regular showing on the programme this summer - perhaps in the studio or even on the sofa.
They say that with Olivia's regular slot on Loose Women, Chris did not expect her to cross over to This Morning.
And as he was happy in his relationship and busy with work, with post-Big Brother about the romance dying down, he felt he was in for a more stable period.
So, it all makes her arrival feel like 'a huge blow' and 'the last thing he wants'.
'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', sources explained.
A friend of Chris' added that as Olivia is now a main presenter and he is a contributor, he fears in a toss-up he would be 'more expendable'.
'Liv's basically the new golden girl of ITV daytime', they said, 'and he worries he's going to be phased out.'
They went as far as to say he would even actively leave to avoid drama: 'He's also really not someone who likes conflict so he would rather walk away.'
The friend said Chris also feels insulted by public comments Olivia has made about his time on Big Brother and with JoJo - especially as he never mentions her publicly and has always spoken about her positively.
While he was in the house, Olivia said in a video posted to TikTok she had to go to therapy after dating her fellow Love Islander.
The presenter also called his relationship with JoJo, who is around ten years younger than him, 'creepy'.
'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 explained.
Olivia - who returned to footballer ex Bradley Dack after splitting with Chris, marrying him in 2023 - also suggested Chris was hamming things up in the Big Brother house.
'[Some] people, they go on reality TV, they are one person and when you experience them off camera… It's like shapeshifters', she said.
When questioned directly on the social media platform for her thoughts on Chris and JoJo's relationship, she hinted he was staging a publicity stunt: 'She's really famous.'
It is believed Olivia is not nearly as bothered by potentially crossing paths with Chris on the programme, according to a friend of hers - as the prospect had not even occurred to her.
Though she 'wouldn't relish' having to speak to him, she would remain professional and focus on doing the job at hand, they added.
Olivia and Chris' relationship turned frosty pretty much as soon as they left the villa.
They split up during production for their reality show Crackin' On, in March 2018, only seven months after Love Island - with the number of episodes quickly cut.
She has even admitted they 'hated' each other after exiting the villa, calling the relationship 'toxic' and saying they were 'horrible' together.
Bosses are determined to keep the pair apart on This Morning, it is thought, and have committed to not putting them on air at the same time.
There is believed to be room for both of them, especially as ITV is used to keeping feuding presenters apart - making no secret of this on shows like Loose Women.
This Morning has been dogged with controversy in recent years with long-time co-presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield falling out.
Phillip stepped down in May 2023 after publicly admitting to having a 'consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning '.
The presenter, who had come out as gay in February 2020, said the affair was 'unwise but not illegal'.
Holly said in a public statement that when the news of his affair broke, she asked him directly if it was true, which he denied - and she was later hurt to discover he had lied.
He said in an interview with the BBC he texted her to apologise for this lie - but she never replied.
In her return to This Morning in June 2023 after a short break, Holly said she felt 'worried, shaken, troubled, let down and full of questions' due to his actions.
The pair unfollowed each other on social media four months later, before Holly left the show after a man was arrested for plotting to kidnap and murder her.
They are believed to no longer be on speaking terms, with Phillip angry she did not publicly defend him.
And viewers were widely unsure if there was enough chemistry between Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley (pictured on the show earlier this week) when they became the programme's main presenters in April 2023
She reportedly told him she did not want to 'feed the narrative' and she was advised by ITV bosses not to respond publicly.
Former This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford has also had issues with Phillip, reportedly filing a formal complaint when he cut her off once.
Her ex-husband and former This Morning co-host Eamonn Holmes has also publicly criticised Phillip in recent years, as 'addicted to fame', a 'liar' and 'delusional'.
Even in the current era of the show, Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have admitted it took them a while to form the close working relationship they now have.
And viewers were widely unsure if there was enough chemistry between Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley when they became the programme's main presenters in April 2023.
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