Nick Knowles’ cringe pics with fiancée, 33, look like a desperate teenager’s – but she’s just what he needs, says expert
HE’S the TV handyman who’s an expert at plastering… his love life over our social media feeds.
Celebrating his 61st birthday this week, Nick Knowles stunned fans as he posed for a very cheeky snap with his gorgeous fiancée Katie Dadzie, 33.
It comes a month after the DIY SOS star hilariously proposed with a Haribo ring – before wisely upgrading to a dazzling £50,000 sparkler.
Dad-of-four Nick, who has been married twice before, is adamant “age is just a number” and hasn’t been afraid to make fun of himself on Instagram, regularly posing for soppy snaps with his younger lover.
But while his “teenage boy energy” – as his entrepreneur fiancée describes it – betrays signs of Peter Pan Syndrome, the hunky handyman may have finally found his perfect match, according to a relationship expert.
TV psychologist Jo Hemmings tells The Sun: “They definitely seem to ‘get’ each other.
“Katie admits being slow to warm to Nick, but now recognises his ‘Peter Pan’ youthful personality, while she thinks she is old for her years.
“It’s a combo that might work, although someone with Peter Pan Syndrome – which includes problems with commitment, emotional instability and being unreliable – tends to wear thin after a few years.”
Nick popped the question to Katie – who is over 27 years his junior – in the States last month.
The couple first met in 2021 when her daughters befriended his youngest lad Eddie, eight, at a play centre.
Katie was accused of being a “gold digger” by internet trolls when the pair went public with their relationship, but Nick later insisted his glam girlfriend was “wealthier and more successful” than him.
His talented partner runs two businesses – Boobbix, which sells lactation products for mums, and Boa Boa, which specialises in comfy lingerie and sex toys.
The savvy businesswoman seems “independent, confident and self-assured”, according to Jo, who adds that Nick will have a rude awakening if he takes her for granted.
“I doubt she’ll be willing to take much nonsense from Nick,” says Jo. “While he may think she is what he needs to rein him in relationship-wise, if his charm turns to cockiness or he is prioritising fun over grown-up obligations, she may feel that he is no longer what she needs.”
‘Cringe factor’
Nick and Katie are not afraid to have a laugh with their fans, posting gushing, OTT snaps on Instagram that Jo says can verge on “cringe”.
In one video, the handyman pulls out some classic ‘dad dancing’ moves, with the caption from his future wife reading: “Marrying the person who makes you ugly laugh the most”.
In another post, Katie gushed: “You make me smile and laugh all the time and I’m so happy that you’re in my life so we can keep making lovely memories and taking special pictures with my eyes closed.”
Nick replied: “Thank you my love. Can’t wait to see you later for dinner and hugs n kisses.”
However, Jo warns that going over the top with such posts can make it appear more like a teenage infatuation.
She said: “The cringe factor is not in the fact that they are mad about each other or even the 28-year age gap, but that the constant posts, validating that, often in child like language, makes it look more like a teenage crush-like than an adult relationship.
“Also that they may just be trying too hard to prove that they are madly in love.”
Notorious love life
Mr Fix-it has had many cracks at love and built a notorious reputation for dating a string of stunning ladies.
At one stage, Nick admitted he had fallen into a pattern of changing girlfriends every six months because of “commitment issues”.
But despite his track record, Jo believes he could turn things around.
She says: “With four children by three women, and numerous girlfriends along the way, it wouldn’t point to success this time around.
“However, it does only take one right person at the right time to turn a pattern of failed relationships into something more enduring.
“As long as she is prepared to tolerate all these PDAs and soppy declarations of love – and it does seem she positively encourages it – then it’s possible.”