Andre: I cried myself to sleep

Peter Andre confessed today he had cried himself to sleep following the break-up of his marriage to Katie Price but insisted he would come out of it "a better man".

The 36-year-old singer said he was not ready to enter a new relationship despite reports of his estranged wife cavorting with a string of men since the split, including a cage fighter.

"I wish I was stronger," he told News Of The World's magazine Fabulous. "The one thing about Katie is that she can just move on. I can't do that. Well, not yet anyway."

Insisting he had always been faithful to Price, aka glamour model Jordan, Andre said: "I never cheated on her, from the moment that I met her until, well, I still haven't."

He also revealed he had not told his children, Junior, four, Princess, two, and stepson Harvey, seven, that his three-and-a-half-year marriage to their mother was over, because he wanted to protect them.

"The kids don't actually know we've split up. When I leave them with Katie, I just say that Daddy has to go to work so I can buy them toys. And when Katie hands them over to me, I just tell them Mummy is working," he said.

"I know I have to tell them the truth at some point, but it feels a bit like I want them to believe in Father Christmas that little bit longer."

The Australian pop star recalled breaking down while on a shopping trip after being hit with the "realisation that the family unit was smashed to pieces".

"It all just suddenly hit me in the Ikea car park. I had to go home, and that night I cried myself to sleep."

Andre, who met Price on ITV1's 'I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!' in 2004, added: "I'm still in a tunnel and can't see the light yet, but I know it's there. I know I'll get there and come out a stronger man - a better man."

This week, the singer was awarded substantial undisclosed libel damages regarding a newspaper claim that he made inappropriate sexual advances to Jordan lookalike Shira Jones while still with his wife.