Christmas Day was supposed to be quiet. Instead, it turned into a nightmare that left Pete Wicks injured, shaken — and hidden away from the world.
The 37-year-old reality star has revealed he was knocked unconscious after a terrifying alcohol-fuelled fall at home, smashing his head on a coffee table before waking up to a scene he still struggles to fully piece together.
Pete says he came round to find his dog, Eric, desperately licking his face — the only reason he realised something was badly wrong.
Speaking candidly on the Staying Relevant podcast with his best friend Sam Thompson, Pete described the full horror of what followed.
Sam’s got his own health issues and is set to undergo surgery on his vocal chordsCredit: YouTube
“I smashed my head on the coffee table,” he said. “No — it gets worse.”
Unbeknown to him, candles had been burning on the table at the time. As he fell, hot wax spilled across his face, causing burns to his eyelids and the delicate skin beneath his eyes.
“I had wax burn across all my eye. I’d taken the skin off my eyelid and under my eye,” he revealed.
The injuries were so severe that Pete didn’t leave the house from Christmas Day until New Year’s Eve, explaining his face was badly swollen, raw and visibly damaged.
The incident came amid ongoing worries about Pete’s eyesight — a problem he’s battled since childhood. The former Strictly Come Dancing star previously revealed he suffered from a lazy eye as a child, earning him the affectionate nickname “Pirate Pete” from his mum due to the eye patch he once had to wear.
Now, those issues are returning — and worsening.
“I may have to go back to having an eye patch,” Pete admitted. “The bad eye is coming back as I’m getting older. It’s going for a walk.”
Despite Sam’s shocked — and slightly confused — reaction, Pete clarified that surgery is being considered, not removal of his eye. He’s set to see a specialist to determine whether the condition can be retrained or if surgery is inevitable.
Adding to the concern, Pete revealed it was close friend Olivia Attwood who first noticed the change, pushing him to take the issue seriously.
As Pete prepares for surgery later this year, Sam will also be undergoing his own procedure — a cyst removal from his vocal cords that will leave him unable to speak for several days.
For fans, the story is a sobering reminder that behind the confidence, tattoos and TV bravado lies a far more fragile reality — one Christmas fall away from disaster.
