Theatrically clasping her head in her worryingly thin fingers, Katie Price looked every bit the heartbroken and anxious wife, sobbing in despair and apparently alone during a frantic dash to reunite with her incarcerated husband Lee Andrews in Dubai.The conman, who she wed a few months ago just days after first meeting in a performative ceremony curated for social media, is currently languishing in the infamously brutal Al Awir jail in the Middle Eastern city state. Accused of financial crimes, Lee needs in excess of £100,000 to free himself, prompting Katie to orchestrate a rescue mission by flying out and attempting to meet him behind bars.As ever, much of her journey was carefully documented – with a tabloid newspaper thought to be paying her a hefty sum for the trip and an exclusive interview. She also had her personal photographer and videographer in tow to ensure no moment of her latest soap opera went unreported – and of course, no money-making opportunity was missed.But conveniently glossed over amid the reams of coverage about her performative plight was the luxurious reality of her trip which saw her enjoy swanky five-star accommodation, exclusive beach bars and restaurants, business-class flights with Emirates and lorryloads of booze as she leaned in to all the trappings of the VIP destination – seemingly without a care in the world.Perhaps, as some sources wryly point out, five days of partying in opulence on an all-expenses-paid trip didn’t quite fit with Katie’s improbable narrative – one which some media outlets have been content to promote in a shared pursuit of so-called clickbait and attention.Today, those in the know call out the charade for the fictitious circus it truly is.As one quipped: ‘This is no more real than what happens on Albert Square or Coronation Street. It’s totally curated, just as if it was a soap opera. Katie’s story is no more real than one involving Ken Barlow or the Mitchell Brothers.‘It’s incredible some people are still buying into it – and even paying her for it. She just wanted cash, a luxurious break and a load of attention – they’re Katie’s three favourite things and she got all of them in spades.’No wonder, then, that she failed to post photographs of herself beaming with joy as she sipped pricy cocktails and puffed on a vape while lounging poolside in the 35C heat at the five-star Sofitel Downtown Dubai resort where she was staying – at the substantial expense of a media outlet. Rooms at the venue overlooking the famous Burj Khalifa development and the Jumeirah Beach tourist hotspot range from £200 per night in the off season to around £800 for suites. Katie Price looked every bit the heartbroken and anxious wife as she clasped her head in her hands after her dash to Dubai to reunite with her incarcerated husband Lee Andrews However, the former glamour model pointedly did not post any pictures of herself sipping pricy cocktails and puffing on a vape during her stay at the five-star Sofitel Downtown Dubai resort Katie was treated to Emirates business-class flights to and from DubaiNor did Katie document the complimentary champagne handed out on the Emirates business-class flights she enjoyed to and from the destination – bookending the five-day trip that she chose to extend for another 24 hours, despite officials making it clear that she would not be allowed access to her husband.Similarly, her personal photographer and film producer Ben Algar, who has worked with the former glamour model for many years, chose not to upload photographs of her trips to the nearby Jumeirah Beach Resort. Meanwhile, she was understood to have sunbathed at Kite Beach. Again, there she spent more hours drinking in the sunshine, donning a series of different bikinis carefully packed to accentuate her surgically enhanced figure ahead of the supposedly frantic trip.And perhaps most tellingly, there are no photographs of her actually attending the remote high-security facility around half a mile away, where she claims to have spoken to her husband from beyond a prison barrier.Images of the jail used in coverage of her visit are entirely from picture archives, as approved visits are strictly controlled and can take many months to engineer, even with the support of foreign office officials and specialist lawyers.Instead, only staged snaps of her sobbing at the poolside and some video footage of her tabloid interview have been released, all from a nondescript yellow sofa back in her hotel.A source says of the trip: ‘This whole thing is a total work of fiction – you can’t just waltz into a prison on a whim, for goodness‘ sake!‘At one stage she had been led to believe she might be able to bail him out at the courthouse for £6,000, but when she realised the reality is it would have cost £140,000 – money she hasn’t got – she gave up pretty fast and focused on her holiday.‘She sat by the pool, went to the beach bars of Jumeirah Beach Resort and generally had a whale of a time. The reality looks like anything but a nightmare for her.‘Most people in her situation would be beside themselves with anxiety and want to be surrounded by their closest friends and family - not a media crew - and they definitely wouldn’t be able to relax at beach bars and hotel pools. Lee Andrews and Katie Price before he was put in jail... the couple married just days after first meeting Katie lounging poolside at the Sofitel resort, where suites can cost £800 a night, even in off-season‘To pretend she’s heartbroken in any way, and that this trip was anything but a money-making exercise and a freebie holiday is utterly laughable.’Katie’s self-styled ‘explosive’ interview, which first appeared yesterday, saw her admit she had been blindsided by the reality of some of Lee’s claims – but insist she is ‘not stupid’ despite raised eyebrows at her willingness to tolerate a man labelled a ‘swindler, liar and narcissist’ by former girlfriends.But Katie’s version of her bizarre six-month romance has been littered with U-turns, plot holes and unexplained mysteries – beginning with wild claims of Lee’s fabulous wealth, celebrity connections and successful business portfolio.His persona quickly unravelled, as it emerged he has left a trail of victims out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds in alleged fraud.A planned appearance on Good Morning Britain saw him ‘miss his flight’ and fake videos from an airport supposed to be in Muscat, Oman, before finally admitting he is subject to a strict travel ban from the Dubai authorities.Later he would inexplicably disappear, leading Katie to make public claims that he had been ‘kidnapped’ after a baffling video call with him in which he appeared with his hands tied in the back of a van.But she later switched to the story that Lee had in fact been arrested and held in prison on suspicion of ‘espionage and spying’, which would later emerge to be equally untrue as Dubai authorities confirmed he is accused of financial wrongdoings and fraud.During the process, Katie has continually flip-flopped in her own approach – at times removing her wedding ring and telling friends the relationship was over, before orchestrating the recent ‘rescue‘ mission.As one insider adds: ‘She’s actually a very fragile person, with lots of other problems going on in her own personal life behind the scenes.‘She’s vulnerable, but thinks that after all these years in the public eye she knows exactly how to manipulate a situation for her own gain.‘She may well do, but on this occasion most people who know her think she has bitten off more than she can chew – even by her standards.’Now Katie suggests, somewhat against the odds, that Lee will be released from prison next week. She told a tabloid interviewer: ‘He is coming out, I can’t wait to see him, can’t wait to have our chats, and he should be out next week.’Since returning home, she has been noticeably quiet on her own social media platforms, aside from continuing to regularly plug and promote controversial CBD health products to her 2.6million Instagram followers.She has long engaged showbusiness picture agency BackGrid to orchestrate staged photographs of herself for media opportunities – and uses the same firm to syndicate images from her social media platforms to the media, in order to pocket a usage fee every time her life generates headlines and press reports.But even avid followers of her output have become increasingly sceptical – with comments beneath her most recent media appearances cynically labelling much of her life ‘set up for the clicks’ and urging her to ‘bore off’.One commenter called the whole saga a ‘publicity stunt’, while several others made reference to her young children, suggesting the ex-model should be back in Britain focusing on them rather than generating headlines abroad.Now questions have been raised around whether the couple’s marriage is legally binding at all – despite their insistence that they formalised the union at a register office just days after their heavily publicised hotel ceremony.Could her marriage be yet another fiction in a life already full of them?