She recently broke down and called him the “love of [her] life” during her Piers Morgan interview, but insiders say Gemma Collins has been left rattled by James “Arg” Argent once again as his ex, Lydia Bright, revealed they were in regular contact.
Lydia, 30, shared a snap of Arg, 31 – who she described as a “very good friend” – FaceTiming her and her one-year-old daughter, Loretta, during an Instagram Live.
And pals say Lydia’s revelation has reignited Gemma’s insecurities over their on/off relationship. The source says, “Gemma knows Arg shares a huge amount of history with Lydia and understands they will always care about one another, but seeing that snap posted publicly of them FaceTiming really stung. It was a miserable reminder of all those years she felt second-best to Lydia.”
When Gemma first joined TOWIE in 2011, her unrequited love for Arg became one of reality show’s most infamous love triangles. Arg even caused fury between the women after it was revealed he had slept with them both on the same day during a trip to Marbella.
Gemma broke down in tears on her reality show Diva Espana in 2019, saying Arg had told her he would “never love her like he loved” his childhood sweetheart Lydia, who he split from in 2016 following a nine-year romance.
And just weeks after Gemma and Arg broke up last summer, he was seen out with Lydia’s sister, Romana, 18, in Spain.
Check out: 11 jaw-dropping TOWIE couples we completely forgot about
11 TOWIE couples you completely forgot about - slider
1 of 11Mark Wright and Sam Faiers
Mark and Sam's on/off relationship goes all the way back to when she was 16 and they met on MySpace (aw, those were the days). They briefly dated during their time on TOWIE but were never able to give things a proper go before he quit the show in 2011.
2 of 11Kirk Norcross and Amy Childs
Kirk and Amy's flirtationship was one of the main storylines during the first season of TOWIE and they eventually briefly dated before splitting in 2011. In a 2013 appearance on This Morning, Kirk admitted, "I will still love Amy until the day I die - she is literally like the girl version of me. When it didn't work out, it broke my heart really... and it wasn't her fault, it was both of our fault."
3 of 11Gemma Collins and Charlie King
Gemma and Charlie briefly dated in 2012 but split after she grew concerned about his friendship with Bobby Norris. Two years later, Charlie came out as gay during an appearance on This Morning. He's still friends with Gemma and even admitted in 2017 that he would consider being the GC's sperm donor if she asked.What a turn of events that would be.
.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
4 of 11Lauren Goodger and Tom Pearce
Remember the days when Joey Essex's BFF Tom Pearce romanced basically every woman within a 10 mile radius of Brentwood? Lauren Goodger became one his many conquests following her split from Mark Wright but they hit the rocks when she caught wind of him bragging about their rendezvous.
5 of 11Mario Falcone and Chloe Sims
It's fair to say Chloe Sims has been unlucky in love over the years but things looked up for her when she began dating close pal Mario. Things moved quick for the pair and she even admitted she loved him - causing friction with BFF Lauren Pope who'd previously dated Mario - but he wasn't ready to settle down and called things off.
6 of 11Harry Derbidge and Bobby Norris
After three years away from the TOWIE scene, OG cast member Harry Derbidge returned as Bobby Norris' boyfriend (in some very skimpy swimwear, nonetheless) during the cast's annual jaunt to Marbs.Their relationship ended in tears though when Harry confessed to sleeping with his ex while on holiday in Tenerife.
7 of 11Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh
They've now found love with soap star other halves Jacqueline Jossa and Ryan Thomas but before that, Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh were an item.They began dating in 2013 but called it quits amid claims he knew about his ex Megan Tomlin being pregnant before getting with Lucy.
8 of 11Charlie Sims and Ferne McCann
Ferne McCann's on/off relationship with Chloe Sims' brother Charlie provided LOTS of dramz on TOWIE over the years, with rumours she cheated on him cropping up more than once.Eventually Charlie publicly quit the show AND dumped Ferne at the same time in a series of tweets in 2014. Awks...
9 of 11Dan Edgar and Kate Wright
Before she wed footballer Rio and became Mrs Ferdinand, Kate Wright joined TOWIE as the ex of Dan Edgar, who reportedly dumped her to star in the show.She took him back after his romances with Lauren Pope and Jess Wright but it wasn't to be and they eventually split for good.
10 of 11Shelby Tribble and Tom McDonnell
Tom McDonnell joined TOWIE alongside a whole host of newbies including Harry Lee and Chloe Brockett in 2019 and soon caught the eye of Shelby Tribble following her split from Sam Mucklow.Sam soon came back on the scene though and Shelby dumped Tom to reunite with her ex. Sam and Shelby later quit the show together and are now expecting their first child.
11 of 11James Argent and Jasmin Walia
In between his long-running relationships with Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins, James Argent was set up on a blind date with Jasmin Walia and they appeared to hit it off. Things seemed to move too quickly for his liking though, causing him to run from her house after being introduced to her parents. Oh, Arg...
Gemma and Arg have appeared on good terms recently, with Arg sending her a huge bouquet of flowers for her 40th last month while she’s announced that she’ll become a mum and get engaged this year.
But last week, Arg – who revealed he is set to undergo a gastric sleeve after reaching 26st – said that, while they’re “not officially” back together due to him isolating for being at high risk of COVID due to his weight, they are in contact and it’s “positive”.
WATCH: TOWIE's Amber, Chloe and Courtney reveal the weirdest thing a fan has ever done
READ MORE
Pete Wicks hits out at co-stars after 'half the TOWIE cast' unfollow him
TOWIE's Ella Wise reveals why she's 'anxious' to film new series
TOWIE fans notice two popular cast members are missing from the trailer
Insiders say while Gemma respects Arg’s history with Lydia – who split from Loretta’s dad Lee Cronin last Spring – she’s issued him an ultimatum that if he wants a romance with her, then there has to be boundaries.
The source says, “Gemma’s told Arg she can’t move forward with Lydia constantly in the background. They’ve already been through so much, Gemma doesn’t want anything or anyone causing any unnecessary drama between them. If they’re going to make a go of this, she needs to know she’s his number one.
“She isn’t saying he must cut Lydia out – and she and Lydia get on, too – but she wants him to keep her completely in the loop with how much contact there is, as she felt humiliated after their phone calls were made public.”
Get the best celeb interviews in Closer magazine each week.