EXCLUSIVE: How a Single Piece of Cold-Hearted Advice From IT Girl Persuaded Kate Middleton to Give Prince William a Second Chance
Kate Middleton had a shock split from Prince William before they got hitched.
June 23 2025, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
Kate Middleton once said she "wasn't very happy about it" when Prince William ended their relationship – and, aged 25, she listened to a friend’s one piece of brutal advice — which RadarOnline.com can reveal changed everything for the couple.
In 2007, during a brief but highly publicized breakup, the future Princess of Wales found herself receiving unexpected guidance from socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.
The advice, offered quietly in a corner at a London book launch, helped set the course for the royal couple’s eventual reconciliation.
Party Girl
Middleton entered a party phase after breaking up with Wills.
Palmer-Tomkinson told her while giving her a playbook for winning back Wills: "Say nothing, do nothing, and you’ll be fine – he’ll come back.’
Kate, now 43, first met William, also 42, at the University of St. Andrews in 2001, with the couple beginning their relationship around 2002.
They dated for several years, but in April 2007, William, then 24, ended things by phone while Kate was at work.
The split lasted around three months and became a media sensation.
During this time, William was seen partying at London hotspot Mahiki, while Kate retreated briefly with her mother Carole before stepping out on the social scene with her sister Pippa.
Both were photographed enjoying the capital’s nightlife, but for Kate, one evening stood out.
Attending a high-profile book launch, she was approached by Palmer-Tomkinson, then 35, a longtime friend of the royal family and goddaughter to the then-Prince Charles.
IT Girl
Tara Palmer-Tompkinson was constantly on the London party circuit.
According to a source who was at the event, Palmer-Tomkinson noticed Kate was struggling and pulled her aside.
The insider said: "Tara looked her in the eye and asked, 'Do you still want to be with him?'
"Kate said she did, that she was still in love with William.
"That’s when Tara gave her that famous advice. It may have come off as blunt, but it was exactly what Kate needed at that moment."
Palmer-Tomkinson, who died in 2017 aged 45, had grown up in royal circles and was no stranger to public scrutiny.
Kate followed her party advice to the letter, never publicly addressing the breakup until her engagement to William was announced more than three years later.
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The couple are now settled with three kids.
When asked about the split in their November 2010 engagement interview, William explained: "We were both very young. It was at university, and we were both sort of finding ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff – it was very much trying to find our own way, and we were growing up."
Kate added: "I think I... at the time wasn’t very happy about it, but actually, it made me a stronger person.
"You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized, or I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger, and I really valued that time for me as well, although I didn’t think it at the time."
The couple quietly reunited months after the split and continued dating until their royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
They celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary this year, with three children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.
A friend of the couple said: "Kate showed how strong she really was during that period. She didn’t seek attention or try to manipulate the situation – and eventually, William realized just what he had lost."
