Dragon's Den star Peter Jones found out the hard way that you don't mix business with pleasure, after he tried to team up with pal Holly Willoughby.
Peter, 55, reportedly worth a whopping £65m, was seemingly seeing red after the This Morning star backed out of their huge £11m deal at the last minute.
Holly, 40, jumped at the last minute due to having too many conflicting commitments but the spoiled business relationship left a sour taste in Peter's mouth as her decision cost the BBC star millions.
Peter's long-term partner Tara Capp admitted they had once been "exceptionally close" but Holly walking away was "devastating".
The two families had been friends for more than 10 years and would regularly holiday together, with Peter even owning a 40% stake in Holly's husband Dan Baldwin's TV production company.
Lifestyle brand Truly was set up by Tara and Holly in 2016, with Peter becoming chairman in March 2018, and was tipped to double the This Morning host's then estimated £11 million fortune.
Holly dropped the bombshell she was withdrawing from the lucrative business venture at the last minute after previously describing the brand as "beautiful things that are of the highest quality, surprisingly affordable and designed to make your life easier".
Peter was said to be 'furious' when he discovered that Holly was abandoning the project during a tense meeting at his business headquarters in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
When the news was announced in September 2018, a source told the Mail Online : "Truly was by far the top of Holly's priorities. It was going to be her long-term future that would see her through the next couple of decades.
"Her decision to pull out left everyone involved absolutely stunned. Nobody could believe what was happening on Tuesday, it was so close to the launch."
Experts believed Holly's departure could have cost Truly millions due to hefty investments in products and possible launch delays.
At the time, a source close to Jones said: "We wouldn’t comment on his business affairs.".
Holly decided to put all of her focus on her partnership with M&S and her commitments with ITV.
At the time she was just about to jet off to Australia to stand in for Ant McPartlin on I'm A Celebrity, was hosting This Morning and appearing as a team captain on Celebrity Juice.
A source close to Holly stated it had been a "really tough decision" to make but a few weeks before the launch she realised she could no longer be a part of it.
Explaining her reasons in an Instagram statement, Holly wrote: "After much consideration, I have made the decision to step away from Truly.
"To launch a brand needs total dedication and at the moment, with so many other commitments, this is not something I feel I can do without it starting to affect my family time at home.
"I wish Truly all the best for the future."
While Holly's personal stock continued to rise, Peter and Tara were left dealing with the consequences of her leaving the deal.
"There is a warehouse full of goods at the Marlow HQ which are ready to be sold," the insider added.
In June 2019, it was reported that the business was forced to launch a massive sale to reduce the level of stock being held in the warehouse.
Prices were slashed on 94% of Truly's 196-item range and an email went out to subscribers offering reductions of up to 40% on some products.
As for the status of their friendship now, Tara seemed to confirm that their failed joint venture had caused some permanent damage.
She told The Telegraph: "Euggh. I’m not going to pretend. It was devastating.
"We were exceptionally close. And of course as a business, you really feel the loss of a celebrity face."
Dragons' Den next airs Tuesday on BBC One at 8pm
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