Katie Dadzie has hit back at claims she’s a gold digger who is dating DIY SOS star Nick Knowles for his money. 

The lingerie brand boss, 34, began dating Nick, 62, in 2021 after they met when their children became friends at a play centre.

Yet the pair have been subject to cruel trolling during their relationship, with critics mocking their age difference and financial setup.  

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, about the ‘gold digger’ jibes, Katie admitted they don’t get to her as much as they used to because she and Nick know its not true. 

She said: ‘I think at the start, it was probably more irritating, especially for my family. But now those comments kind of just pᴀss over me because we both know it’s not true.

‘Nick works hard, he has what he has. I work hard, I have what I have and then we buy each other stuff.’

Katie Dadzie, 34, has hit back at claims she’s a gold digger who is dating DIY SOS star Nick Knowles, 62, for his money and insisted she makes her own money as a lingerie boss

Katie continued: ‘We’re both really comfortable with where we are with that and you will always get it because there’s an age gap.

‘I know plenty of people who are together and the same age where someone’s using the other one for money and they’re not happy.

‘So as long as I know it’s not true and he knows it’s not true, I think that’s, that’s pretty much all that matters.’ 

Nick has an estimated £7.5 million net worth but Katie has built up an impressive lingerie brand, having launched Boa Boa in 2022. 

She has proved to be her own best advert for the brand, modelling the skimpy looks to her 102,000 Instagram followers. 

Katie revealed her battle with endometriosis has impacted the pictures she posts as she is now on a mission to show off her ‘real’ figure. 

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus. It can cause pelvic pain, heavy periods, and difficulty getting pregnant.

Speaking about how she wants to represent real women Katie shared : ‘I’ve got slightly better at trying to show slightly more real, as in I’ve put weight on recently so I know I can’t just have the better picture of me where I haven’t eaten at the start of the morning.

‘I’ve got horrendous endometriosis, so I do bloat terribly but that’s the company ethos that it’s underwear that’s made to fit you regardless of your size.’

Nick has an estimated £7.5 million net worth but Katie has built up an impressive lingerie brand, having launched Boa Boa in 2022 and often models the looks for her Instagram followers 

Read MoreEXCLUSIVE Katie Dadzie, 34, reveals how fiancée Nick Knowles has fixed her self esteem issues after racy snaps

Back in October, Nick admitted he almost lost Katie after she was left questioning their relationship due to the intense trolling. 

Giving her take on the unwanted public attention, she confessed it has put a strain on the relationship: ‘We’ve had like ups and downs with it because I am not from that background at all.

‘Nick I think generally has a very thick skin to it and he’s very good at dealing with it. I’m not.’

Discussing how she made the mistake of reading comments she continued: ‘Yeah, it’s a lot. I hate having my picture taken. 

‘You know, to get a selfie, I’d take 60 and then select one so going in front of a red carpet even though I’ve done it a fair few times with him now, on the way there I’m absolutely terrified. 

‘Then there are a lot of comments every time we do one of people saying that my eyes are too open or I look startled and, well, I am startled. I’m shell shocked. 

‘I look like a wild animal in headlights, because I am. It’s not my natural habit. My natural habitat is tracksuit bottoms, cardigans, and my office at home, or something along those lines.

‘So being put in front of all the cameras and stuff is just not me, whereas Nick and the people that work in that industry they do it so naturally, and I’m not at all natural at it.’

Yet Katie is accepting that the attention comes with the nature of Nick’s job. 

She explained: ‘I think there’s an understanding that I’ve got now that this is his job and, not necessarily the really hideous people that comment, but the attention is from people generally that watch the shows and without people watching the shows, he wouldn’t have a job.

‘So I’m a lot better at it now than I ever have been.’

Back in October, Nick admitted he almost lost Katie after she was left questioning their relationship due to the intense trolling (pictured in 2023)