Lee Andrews has finally been reunited with his wife, Katie Price, after a long saga which saw him locked behind bars, but he’s not off the hook yet.
Last month, he disappeared shortly after he failed to show up to a Good Morning Britain interview, with Katie, 48, claiming he had been ‘kidnapped’. Weeks later, the businessman, who reportedly couldn’t leave Dubai, rocked up in the country’s notorious Al-Awir prison.
Returning to Instagram, Lee, who is in his 40s, seemed to be sporting a new trim, which led to fans questioning if he was ever locked up at all. The Sun has now confirmed that Lee was jailed over unpaid debts, including to a law firm, which he now has 14 days to repay.
He is said to owe 266,060 Dirhams (£54,000) to a rent-a-car company, Rotana Star, which dates back to 2022. In the meantime, he has boasted about his fleet of sports cars, insisting he owns them and even claimed to have purchased a Ferrari for Katie.
The second case, which sparked the arrest warrant, pertained to 74,817.50 Dirhams (£15,000) owed to a UAE legal firm, which is likely unpaid legal fees. His debts mean in order to leave Dubai, he would have to inform the CID, but Lee is not an ‘actively wanted’ man in the police’s eyes.
While in court, representatives for Lee moved for the judge to release him so he was able to access his bank account to pay off the remaining debts. ‘The judgment debtor appeared before the court and was questioned regarding the reason for failure to pay the debt,’ they said in a statement. ‘He stated his wife is currently outside the country and that he has been unable to access his bank account required to make payment. He requested a period of 14 days in order to settle the outstanding amount.’
Katie has reportedly not paid a penny towards Lee’s freedom, although she has not ditched him completely and excitedly leapt into his arms upon their reunion. The Sun’s source said he ‘managed to talk himself out of jail’, promising to raise the money himself rather than taking anything from his wife’s pocket.
‘He says Kate has been his rock, and helped him liaise with officials when he was banged-up,’ they continued. ‘But that he hasn’t asked her to pay off any of his debts. He insists he can do that himself.’ Lee now has two weeks to come up with the £69,000, or he could be re-arrested and sent back to prison.
Everything Lee Andrews has been accused of since marrying Katie Price
Misleading claims of being a multi-millionaire business owner
When Katie named Lee as her new partner, he was selling himself as the CEO of Aura Group Future Urban Travel 2027 and an ‘investor in SpaceX Hybrid Fitness’. His profile, which had 111k followers, was littered with photos of the entrepreneur in the gym and enjoying the high life in Dubai - also appearing to rub shoulders with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian. However, it was all later exposed as a farce - with no information about his company on its website, and his snaps with celebrities appearing to also be AI-generated.
Being banned from leaving Dubai
After meeting and marrying her new husband in Dubai, it came time for Katie to fly home to the UK – however her husband was unable to join her. This was due to the fact that he’d allegedly served time in Dubai’s Al Awir central prison for suspected fraud, for allegedly taking out a £200,000 mortgage in his ex-girlfriend's name without her knowledge. The UAW bans people facing criminal investigations from leaving the country, however Lee denied he was unable to return to the UK and said there must be some ‘wrong details’. However, Katie later confirmed he was subjected to a ban, but didn't clarify why.
Teasing a fake pregnancy
Just a few weeks into their relationship, both Katie and Lee teased they were expecting a baby. After Katie declared she was 'having his child' Lee wrote they were a ‘perfect couple soon to be triple’. At one point, the mum of five even urged her followers to pay £2.99 to find out the results of a pregnancy test. Despite the attempts to generate publicity, she then confirmed she was not pregnant.
Scamming a string of women
Days after Katie and Lee tied the knot, two of his exes accused him of being a 'liar, narcissist and manipulator'. Two months later, it was then reported he'd been begging women for money weeks before he married Katie. His ex Alana, then shared a post on Instagram calling him the ‘Tinder Swindler’ and claimed multiple women had contacted her saying he’d tried to scam them out of money too.
'Ghosting' his wife
After Lee failed to return to the UK last week, Katie revealed she had concerns he'd been kidnapped and then reported him as a missing person. However, it was then reported that Lee had actually ‘ghosted’ his wife and was ‘squatting in a slightly run-down villa’ in Dubai and using a burner phone. The Sun claimed he was ‘frantically planning a route out of this ginormous hole he appears to have buried himself in’.
In his first official statement since his release, Lee claimed the arrest had nothing to do with financial fraud or criminal activity as speculated. Now sporting a suspiciously thick crop of hair on his previously shaved head, Lee confirmed he is ‘safe and healthy and with his wife’ before making various extravagant claims about his whereabouts, including being held at gunpoint.
On his Instagram story, he said: ‘I was taken close to the Qatar Omani border [these countries do not share a border] at gunpoint and was captured by men with assault rifles. ‘They did slap me around a little bit, the little s**ts. I was hand-tied, shackled and also with a hood over my head. ‘From there I was taken to a black site and I had no use of my phone. From what I know, it was an extended arm of the national guard, and that’s all I can reveal at the moment.’
Katie has said she plans to interrogate Lee on the entire saga, but was looking forward to seeing her husband after weeks apart. She jumped into his arms on their reunion, followed up by plenty of kissing, hugging and holding hands as they headed to Vox Dubai, an outdoor rooftop cinema, to watch a World Cup game.
While the mystery around Lee continues, for now, it seems Katie is just happy to be reunited with him.
