Katie Price’s ‘wedding ceremony’ to her ‘new husband’ was all for show and had no legal weight whatsoever, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The celebrant who conducted the ‘symbolic ceremony’, told the Mail: ‘I’m a showman, you have to go to court to have it legalised.’
Darryl Rees, a part-time DJ and MC originally from Swansea, has been conducting symbolic weddings for five years in Dubai’s exotic locations and said British most couples choose to have the humdrum legalities completed either in a court in Dubai or a register office in the UK either before or afterwards.
It’s not clear whether or not Katie, 47, and her new ‘husband’ Lee Andrews chose to do so.
The former glamour model shocked the showbiz world when she announced that she was engaged on Friday, just days after her breakup from reality star JJ Slater, 32.
She then wasted absolutely no time in appearing to get married to Dubai ex-pat Lee, 43 – a move which left her family horrified. They are now said to be planning an intervention.
Katie Price’s ‘wedding ceremony’ to her ‘new husband’ was all for show and had no legal weight whatsoever, the Daily Mail can reveal
The former glamour model shocked the showbiz world when she announced that she was engaged on Friday, with Lee then taking to Instagram on Tuesday to show off their rings
The celebrant who conducted the ‘symbolic ceremony’, told the Mail: ‘I’m a showman, you have to go to court to have it legalised’
On Monday, the Daily Mail exposed a series of lies on Lee’s LinkedIn CV, including baseless claims that he was a multi-millionaire and advised the Labour Party and the King’s Trust.
Photos from the ceremony show Katie gazing adoringly at Lee as she shows off her assets in a skimpy cut-out dress as well as her huge diamond engagement ring – which appears to be the same ring Lee gave to his ex-wife just four months ago.
The ceremony took place in the grounds of the £600-a-night One and Only Royal Mirage, a five-star hotel on Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah island, the Mail has learned.
The couple posed in its beautiful gardens by the shores of the Persian Gulf, covered in rose petals, and stood holding hands while exchanging their vows which Darryl read from an iPad.
The happy couple then posed for more snaps with glasses of champagne before she worked her best angles for some solo shots in her thigh-split dress which was teamed with towering heels and showed off her many tattoos.
The speed of the so-called nuptials had already led some cynics to suspect the entire event was a publicity stunt, but celebrant Darryl was adamant that the couple appeared ‘head over heels in love’.
Darryl, 35, said he was contacted by Lee Andrews on Saturday, the day after the couple declared they were engaged on Instagram.
The ceremony was set for Sunday.
Darryl, 35, said he was contacted by Lee Andrews on Saturday, the day after the couple declared they were engaged on Instagram
Katie Price’s ‘worried’ family are reportedly planning an intervention over her whirlwind marriage to entrepreneur Lee Andrews (Katie pictured with her sister Sophie and mum Amy)
It has been reported that Lee’s glossy online profile supposedly caught her attention just days ago leading to a whirlwind wedding however the mask was removed when fans saw comparison images away from the filters he uses
Darryl told the Mail: ‘They got engaged on the Friday and two days later, I’m standing in front of them, marrying the couple’
The couple’s whirlwind romance comes just days after it was revealed that the mother-of-five had split from her boyfriend, JJ Slater, after two years of dating (seen in 2024)
Darryl told the Mail: ‘They got engaged on the Friday and two days later, I’m standing in front of them, marrying the couple.
‘From my point of view, they seemed like a lovely couple. They appeared very much smitten by each other. When I was speaking to Lee initially, he was clearly head over heels for Katie and very excited to marry the girl.
‘And Katie seemed very taken with him as well. They were both looking into each other’s eyes the whole time when I was doing the reading, never looked away, just transfixed like any couple would be, madly in love.
‘I think they mentioned that they were going to get the wedding legalised the day after on the Monday.’
He added of the civil formalities: ‘From what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty straightforward process, but what I do is a symbolic wedding. I’m like the showman, and then they get married in the courts with all the paperwork.
‘When Lee messaged me on the Saturday, he said “I want to do a wedding with my fiancée”. Then he gave me the names as Lee Andrews and Katie Price, and I was a bit taken aback, so I wasn’t that surprised when I saw it was indeed her the following day.
‘They were both lovely and not at all stuck up. They were just laughing and giggling to each other, and yeah, they’re just like any couple who were about to get married.
‘For someone who is a celebrity, Katie was very down to earth and easy to talk to with no ego, she was very nice.
‘I tailored the ceremony to them. We had a little chat the day before about how they want me to go about the reading, and they mentioned some personal stuff including the 11:11 tattoos with each other’s name on their hands, which signifies that the angels are watching you and you’re on the right track and your manifestations are coming true, so I mentioned that. I personalised it to them.’
Leading Dubai wedding expert Rhiannon Downie-Hurst, Founder of Bride Club ME, explained the origin of the ‘symbolic ceremony’ undertaken by Katie and her new husband.
‘In Dubai and the wider UAE, there is a clear distinction between a legal marriage and a ceremonial or symbolic wedding celebration.
‘Many couples… legally marry in their home country, via their embassy, courts or religious institutions, and then hold a symbolic wedding ceremony in Dubai at a later date. This is extremely common.’
‘That said, recent legal reforms now allow both tourists and residents to legally marry through the civil courts across several emirates.
‘While the process is now more straightforward than in previous years and can be completed relatively quickly, it still requires formal applications, identity checks, supporting documentation and legal approvals, so it is rarely a completely spontaneous process.
‘For UK nationals, documentation, particularly proof of marital status and divorce paperwork, often requires official attestation [witnessing], which usually needs to be prepared in advance. While some providers promote ‘same-day’ weddings, this generally refers to situations where all paperwork has already been prepared, attested and pre-approved.
‘Regarding Katie Price’s wedding, I wouldn’t want to speculate on any individual legal arrangements. From an industry expert perspective, what was publicly visible appeared to follow the format of a symbolic wedding celebration, which is extremely common in Dubai.’
Bride Club ME is described as the UAE’s ‘leading wedding inspiration, community and concierge platform for brides and the industry’.
It is now claimed that Katie’s family are deeply concerned about the speed of the relationship and are preparing to sit her down for a ‘serious talk’ over her marriage.
A source told The Sun: ‘Everyone is worried she’s spinning out of control.
‘They haven’t even met this man and if she’s only known him a week, he could be anyone.
‘Nobody is planning to hold back.’
It comes as Katie has changed her name just days after tying the knot with Lee.
Adding to the whirlwind nature of his marriage, Lee has now shared on Instagram that Katie has changed her surname to be Katie P Andrews.
And the celebrations didn’t stop there, as Katie went on to claim that Lee, who previously declared he was a millionaire, has also splashed out £180,000 on a brand new Ferrari.
Katie’s representative declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail.
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