The night X Factor's Katie Waissel was jilted at the altar in Las Vegas

By SHARON CHURCHER and GILL PRINGLE

Head-over-heels: Katie's affair with Philipp began in February 2009 when she was filming in Vienna


X Factor contestant Katie Waissel was ‘heartbroken’ when her boyfriend backed out of marrying her in a ‘quickie’ Las Vegas ceremony.

The controversial 24-year-old singer whisked TV producer Philipp Schwinger to the city’s Little White Wedding Chapel in July 2009 after a whirlwind romance.

But at the last minute, the 29-year-old Austrian had second thoughts.

‘You don’t often see true love but they were the real deal. For Katie, it was a natural progression to get married. She loves being in the moment. It was Philipp who was the voice of reason.

‘She lives in a world where anything is possible. Philipp lives in a different world and her free-spirit attitude definitely brushed up against his strict Austrian upbringing.

‘She was devastated. I watched her have her heart broken.’

Katie was picked from among 200 hopefuls to star in the online series. Under the name Katie Vogel, or Katie V, she was followed as she jetted off to America to work with music-industry insiders. The series, filmed over seven months last year, starts with Katie saying: ‘Everyone has a story, a dream, a song to sing. This is mine.’

Katie, who had fallen for him on the set of an internet reality series, Green Eyed World, was traumatised, according to the programme’s director, Tony Valenzuela.

‘Katie is a sweet and sensitive girl and I don’t know how many more knock-backs she can take,’ the 38-year-old said last night. ‘She fell head-over-heels in love with Philipp and he was in love with her too.

‘The affair began in February 2009 when we were filming in Vienna. She met Philipp’s parents in their huge house on a lake. Philipp was constantly in a state of admiration for this girl who could create songs out of nowhere.


'Real deal': Katie with Philipp Schwinger with whom she shared a whirlwind romance


The hair-salon receptionist from Harewood, Hertfordshire, has since become one the most unpopular X Factor contestants ever.

She has courted controversy since she was selected for the live finals instead of Gamu Nhengu, despite fluffing her audition at the Judges’ House stage.

Shortly afterwards, reports of a romance with fellow X Factor contestant Matt Cardle emerged but there was no truth to them, with some even believing Katie was the source.

She has also been accused of attention-seeking and has reportedly struggled to bond with fellow contestants. Last week, she was second to bottom in the public voting, ahead of girl band Belle Amie, who were sent home.

Actress Kristen Quintrall, who worked with her on Green Eyed World, has claimed that Katie seduced Philipp to get her role on the series. But Mr Valenzuela said: ‘Contrary to those stories, it was me who cast her. Philipp had very little to do with my decision. There was no casting couch.’

He said that Katie impulsively proposed to Philipp after noticing a sign for Las Vegas as they were driving through the Californian desert on a shoot for the series.

‘We headed out for Joshua Tree in the desert where we were going to write songs,’ the director said. ‘We were halfway there when Katie suddenly says, “Let’s go to Vegas instead!’’ ’ Philipp initially was taken with the idea, Mr Valenzuela said, and when they arrived in Las Vegas that night, he escorted her to the Little White Wedding Chapel.


Devastated: Katie 'lived in the moment' while Philipp was the voice of reason


Shortly afterwards, however, the executive insisted they inform their families of their intentions.

‘I think reality stepped in after they both called their parents but it was definitely much more on Philipp’s side,’ said Mr Valenzuela, confiding that Philipp informed Katie that they had been too hasty.

‘It was after midnight and we were all so tired. The three of us went back to Katie’s hotel room and just sat and talked about relationships and love. It was very sad. Katie just goes for it and maybe that was scary for Philipp.’

Katie attempted to resume the relationship but it was a ‘struggle,’ Mr Valenzuela said, and the romance petered out.

As well as appearing in Green Eyed World, sponsored by Sprite, Katie had a deal with a small US record company. That was reportedly cancelled to prevent her from being disqualified from The X Factor.

It has also been claimed that, during the filming of Green Eyed World, the singer began negotiations with a division of one of America’s largest labels, Interscope.
Ms Quintrall said: ‘Just before she was due to sign that deal, she threw a temper tantrum.

‘They walked away from it.

‘Tony Valenzuela was furious because she’d just destroyed the series finale.’
But Mr Valenzuela said: ‘There was no major record label involved.

It was a show about a girl’s experience of trying to make it – not about a girl who had made it.

‘I thought it was cool that she went back afterwards and worked in the hair salon.’
Mr Schwinger did not respond to a request for comment.

When asked about Katie’s relationship with Mr Schwinger, an X Factor spokeswoman said they would not be making a comment.





source :dailymail