Gareth Gates has cleared the air about his recent split from Faye Brookes, his girlfriend of seven years. An article in The Sun had claimed that Gates was a “controlling” partner, who drove Brookes to break-up with him. He reportedly refused to let the soap star socialise with her friends without him, and a source close to the pair allegedly said that his own quiet social life meant that he was very clingy with the 'Coronation Street' actress.

However, the singer’s manager has come forward with a new statement. “I've just spoken to Gareth about this. He told me this story has no truth to it whatsoever”, his manager said, in a statement obtained by RSVP Live. “We're baffled as to where it's come from!”. He added.

Gareth’s manager went on to explain just why the break-up has been so mysterious. “At this time they don't wish to disclose the personal reasons why”, he explained. “They remain the best of friends and hopefully after some time apart they'll be clearer on what the future holds for them”. The two shared identical statements on their respective Twitter accounts.

Unfortunately @Gareth_Gates and I are choosing to take some time apart. We remain the very best of friends. We’d like to Thank you for all your support over the years x

— Faye Brookes (@Faye_Brookes) September 17, 2018

A number of Brookes' ‘Corrie’ co-stars showed their support on Twitter, such as Kym Marsh.

Love you xx

— Kym Marsh (@msm4rsh) September 18, 2018

Gates and Brookes met back in 2015, after the singer’s split from Suzanne Mole. The couple met on the set of ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’. Faye Brookes currently stars as Kate Connor in ‘Coronation Street’.