Kate Middleton Acted As Her Husband Prince William's Fake Girlfriend While They Were In School

Prince William and Kate Middleton would appear to have been together forever, but the pair started as friends. They initially met in 2001 while they both studied at St. Andrews University. In an interview, Middleton recalled flushing and scuttling off when they both met for the first time.

Although William was a very reserved person compared to Middleton, the two hit it off quite quickly. 

"William wasn't there for quite a bit of the time initially; he wasn't there from Freshers' Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other, but we did become very close friends from quite early on," she said.

However, it wasn't until Middleton served as a model for a philanthropy show that Prince William began to see her in a new light. As she walked down the Podium, William reportedly whispered to his friend, "Wow, Fergus, she's hot!"

The pair had become so close in the following year that they moved off-campus with some mutual friends.

"When I first met Kate, I knew there was something extraordinary about her. I knew there was possibly something that I wanted to explore there," Prince William confessed in an interview with ABC. "We ended up being friends for a while, and that just sort of was a good foundation. Because I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage."

Since he was royalty, Prince William got a lot of attention from the opposite sex. Many people would hit on him when he went out, making him very uncomfortable.

According to The Mirror, Middleton had a clever way of keeping the girls at bay. The couple's friend, Laura Washuer, recently interviewed royal expert Katie Nicholl for her book "Kate: The Future Queen" and reminisced when Middleton helped the Prince out of an awkward situation with a girl.

"Will was getting hit on by this girl at a party, and it was getting quite uncomfortable because he couldn't shake her off. He was being polite, but this girl just didn't get the hint," she explained. And that's when Kate stepped in. "All of a sudden, Kate came up behind him and put her arms around him. He said, 'Oh, sorry, but I've got a girlfriend,' and he and Kate went off giggling."

According to her, the Prince was full of gratitude for the gesture and mouthed the words "thank you very much" at the event. "Kate was the only girl in the room who could have done that. And that was just a month after we started university," the friend added.

Their friendship eventually blossomed into romance, and after trying to keep things in hush-tones for a while, they were spotted cuddling up to one another while they were at the Swiss ski resort of Klosters in 2004.

In 2010, the couple announced their engagement and tied the knot the following year at Westminster Abbey. This automatically conferred on them the title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Since then, the couple has welcomed three children. Their oldest son Prince George was born nine years ago, followed by his sister Princess Charlotte seven years after, and their brother Prince Louis four years later.

In his book "William and Kate: A Royal Love Story," Christopher Andersen revealed that the Prince ultimately broke up with Kate Middleton over the phone while she was at work. 

In an excerpt published by Today, Andersen wrote that although the pair had been together throughout college, William doubted their relationship. Kate reportedly excused herself from work to hear William's reasons for wanting to break up, which were, "I can't... It just isn't going to work. It isn't fair to you."

Middleton revealed that she wasn't happy with the breakup in a joint TV interview. "At the time, I wasn't pleased about it, but it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized. I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger, and I valued that time for me as well, although I didn't think it at the time."

According to multiple sources, Middleton returned to Ireland days after her breakup with Prince William. E!News reported that Middleton went to an art gallery with her mom and visited Ireland's National Gallery.

The same outlet reported that she jetted to Ibiza with her brother after the split. Inside Edition also added that Kate was reportedly spotted at the "London party circuit" and was seen spending quality time "with the handsome heir to a British shipping fortune."