Remember when TOWIE's Liam 'Gatsby' Blackwell announced that he was leaving Essex and permanently moving to LA at that lavish, American-themed party and then didn't actually move to LA? He even teased a brand new spin-off TOWIE series called The Only Way is LA (more on that in a bit). That's the kind of iconic TOWIE legend behaviour we live for.
Anyway, after what's felt like 84 years (well, roughly a year), Dani Imbert's ex has finally packed and uprooted to Tinsel Town, to live near his mum Nikki and brother, Eamonn.
Gatsby recently took to his Instagram to share a snap of himself holding keys to his brand new LA property just below a Sunset Blvd street sign (his keys are attached to a keyring that says 'Living Well', because Gatsby).
He captioned the exciting post, "Got the keys to my new place in my dream location & I’m only 30 minutes down the road from Mum and the rest of my family which is the main thing ❤️ it’s taken a lot for me to get to this point and for once I’m feeling proud of myself.
"I now live in the world famous ‘Sunset Strip’ in West Hollywood. Feeling so grateful and relieved the move is nearly over as it’s been a stressful time 😅 now time to sort the furniture and sort my Real Estate career out.
"Big thanks to everyone who has supported me & this is only the beginning of my new journey ❤️."
Gatsby? LA? Sunset Strip? Real estate career? In our minds, this screams one thing and one thing only: Selling Sunset. Just imagine Gatsby going head-to-head with the likes of Chrishell Stause, Mary Fitzgerald, Jason Oppenheim and Christine Quinn (we can dream, right?). To be honest, it's not totally outside of the realm of possibilities; Gatsby is familiar with the ins-and-outs reality telly, he loves the property game, he knows how to dress to impress, and, of course, he's a local now – literally living on Sunset.
Now we're imagining the likes of Chloe Brockett coming to visit him at the Oppenheim office and some crossover with House of Sims too. The possibilities...
And we're clearly not the only ones who have put two and two together. One fan commented on Gatsby's Instagram post, writing, "@theoppenheimgroup surely?!! Towie meets @sellingsunsetnetflix 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉."
Another flat out asked, "Are you gonna join Selling Sunset?"
Not to brag, but we've actually interviewed Chrishell in the past, Gatsby, so if you like, we could put in a good word and perhaps arrange some sort of interview, then work out some sort of Closer exclusive set visit for early 2024? January preferably.
This isn't the first time Gatsby has hinted at exercising his reality telly chops in LA. Last year, Gatsby shared a snap of him and pals including Amber Turner, Dan Edgar and Chloe Brockett from the series 30 finale and wrote a caption about leaving his friends behind for a new life stateside.
"Gonna miss this lot. Feels weird seeing everyone go back to filming and not being involved 😢 Good luck to the cast and crew for this series ❤️," he wrote alongside the post.
And, in a line that got us seriously excited, he added, "Next series The Only Way is LA??"
Just imagine a series of TOWIE set in LA... the glitz and the glam might even be enough to get the GC to return.
Who is Liam 'Gatsby' Blackwell?
Liam Blackwell, aka Gatsby is a reality TV star best known for his role on the ITVBe series The Only Way is Essex. He joined the show in 2015 and has made quite a name for himself. He was introduced to the show as Lydia Bright's best friend.
Before joining TOWIE he was once a professional footballer, playing for West Ham United. He is also known for his career as a rapper and his love of helicopters. In other words, this man was born to live in LA.
He recently left TOWIE and Essex and permanently relocated to LA to be closer to his mum and brother.
How old is Gatsby?
Gatsby was born on 9 August 1988, meaning he is currently 34 years old.
Is Gatsby still dating Dani Imbert?
Absolutely not.
Gatsby has had bit of a turbulent love life and we have seen his relationships and romances play out on TOWIE over the years. From his attempts to woo Ferne McCann to his secret fling with Chloe Sims, but it seemed he’d finally found love last year when he began dating Dani Imbert.
Sadly, their relationship didn’t work out and they split back in December 2021 before coming face-to-face for the first time on screen in emotional scenes where she accused him of “treating her like sh-t.”
More recently, Gatsby kissed newbie Hannah Voyan when dared by Courtney Green to kiss the girl he fancies the most atAmber Turner's birthday party.
But the love affair was short lived as Gatsby revealed he was leaving the show and it was later reported that Hannah had been axed from the show after just one series.
Who is Gatsby's brother?
Gatsby's little brother is called Eamon Blackwell; he was rumoured to be going into Love Island last year, but never slow-mo walked into the villa. According to Liam, producers were in contact with his younger brother in the hopes of signing him up to appear on the ITV2 dating show.
“He was approached to do Love Island last series. They approached me first as I know the producers on Love Island, and they are keen to get him on the show," said Gatsby.
Does Gatsby have a girlfriend?
Gatsby revealed he was dating someone new in October 2022.
"She’s different to all the other girls I’ve dated. She’s classy, she’s educated, she's pretty and she’s just from a different world and she’s not like the typical girls that I usually go for, it’s worlds apart," he admitted.
They subsequently split.
In the past he has dated Spanish model Rebeca Marrero, Swedish model Isabella Cirinksi, TOWIE co-star Chloe Sims, and, of course, Dani Imbert.
What surgery did Gatsby have?
Gatsby revealed that he had to be rushed to hospital and forced to undergo 'life-changing' surgery after suffering from a hiatus hernia in May 2022.
He shared the news on Instagram, posting a picture of him in a hospital bed with the caption, "I would have still been in LA but the reason I came home was to have surgery 🥲 I’ve been suffering with a hiatus hernia and acid reflux for a few years now but it got to the point where I couldn’t eat food & drink liquids at the same time without it coming back up.
"Imagine eating a meal and being thirsty and not being able to drink a glass of water with it or the food you’ve just eaten will come back up. Also, the burning taste of acid in your mouth most mornings.
"This surgery repairing my stomach and hiatal hernia will hopefully be life changing for me 🤞🏽 not looking forward to the next six weeks on a liquid / soft food diet so any tips from people who have had this surgery it would be much appreciated x."
Gatsby was joined in the hospital by his mum Nikki Blackwell. In the post he included a picture of her with the caption, "Swipe to see who has flown thousands of miles to look after me in my two month recovery ❤️".
Gatsby's followers were quick to offer their support, commenting on the post. Fellow TOWIE star James Argent wrote, "We love you bro, will keep visiting ❤️."
TOWIE royalty Chloe Sims wrote, "Sending you love."
What is Gatsby's net worth?
Gatsby's net worth was estimated estimated to be £2m in 2018 by Metro, although this hasn't been confirmed, and tbh, it's probably much higher now.
Does Gatsby have Instagram?
He does - you can follow him @gatsby_liam.