She’s finally achieved her long-awaited dream of becoming a mum, giving birth to a baby girl in July. And now Lauren Goodger reveals that, while she’s totally overjoyed at finally becoming a parent, it’s turned her life upside down.
Lauren, 34, says, “Larose is my world and life, but being a mum is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s totally taken over – I’m running on no sleep and just taking it all day by day. I can’t begin to imagine having twins – how on earth do people do it?”
Lauren welcomed baby Larose – whose name she created out of her own first and middle name – with her partner, builder and model Charles Drury, 23, last month. The couple went public last October and, within three months, they were expecting their first child together.
Lauren’s whirlwind romance follows years of heartache over failed relationships – with the likes of TOWIE star Mark Wright and jailbird Joey Morrison – but she says she has now finally found The One.
She says, “Charlie has been so sweet, helping with all the cooking and the cleaning. The other day I caught him watching Mrs Hinch videos for cleaning tips – he’ll kill me for saying that! But he has been amazing, especially for a young guy – changing nappies, getting up in the night. He’s even been feeding me my dinner – the other day, he fed me my lasagne while I was feeding Larose.”
And Charlie’s support is invaluable as – despite previously saying she’s always felt like being a mum would come naturally to her, having helped raise her nieces and nephews – Lauren says nothing could have prepared her for motherhood, and she’s finding breastfeeding particularly hard.
She says, “She’s so beautiful and she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m learning every day and trying my best. It is a vicious cycle – she needs feeding, then she needs her nappy changed, then as soon as that’s done, I’ve got to do something else, then she needs feeding again. It’s non-stop! I can’t imagine how women do it in their teens or twenties. I’m really glad I did it at my age, with more life experience.
“Breastfeeding is something that I really wanted to do, but has been so much harder and more painful than expected. My nipples feel like razor blades. My boobs are ginormous – they were big anyway, as I had my boobs done in 2014. I wasn’t sure if the implants would affect breastfeeding, but it’s a myth – it’s been fine for me.”
The star – who rose to fame on TOWIE – is usually dolled up in make-up and dressed in glamorous outfits. But she says her pampering has taken a backseat since having Larose. And although it’s 3pm when we speak, she’s still in her pyjamas.
She says, “Honestly, I have zero time for myself, so look like sh--! My beauty regime has totally gone out the window. We’ve just moved house, so everything’s everywhere, and I don’t even know where my make-up is! I’m usually someone who is up in the morning with make-up and a nice outfit on, but that is so not me now – I’m still in my pyjamas! At one point, I didn’t even shower for three days. My priority isn’t me any more, it’s her, so that means I don’t have time to put in as much effort.”
Lauren has been open about her struggles with body dysmorphia and her weight in the past, saying in 2016, “I never feel happy, no matter what size I am. I can look at a picture and everyone tells me I look great, but I think I look revolting.”
CHECK OUT the cutest TOWIE babies
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1 of 20Amy Childs
The first of the really big names to come from TOWIE, Amy quit the show in 2011 and welcomed her first daughter, Polly, in 2017. She also has a son from a different relationship who she's kept out of the limelight, but accidentally revealed his name was Ritchie in an interview.
2 of 20Georgina Cleverly
Georgina Cleverley – née Dorset – was only on the show for two series and went on to have a two sons with her footballer hubby Tom, who she keeps off social media.
3 of 20Sam Faiers
Sam is mum to daughter Rosie and a son called Paul, who she named after her husband, also called Paul. "We always wanted him to be named Paul after his dad," she said."It's traditional and we didn't have any other names on the list, so he's Paul, and his middle name is Tony after Paul's brother, his Uncle Tony."She's made a household name for herself and her family with her hit reality show, The Mummy Diaries.
4 of 20Billy Faiers
Sam's lookalike big sister Billie is also a mum to two kids of her own, sharing daughter Nelly (five) and son Arthur (three) with her husband Greg Shepherd.
5 of 20Kirk Norcross
Despite being TOWIE's original bad boy, Kirk has overhauled his image in the last few years to be the ultimate family man. He's dad to son Harry, three, and daughter Violett, four - although Violett doesn't feature on his Instagram after her mum made it clear she didn't want her in the public eye.
6 of 20Maria Fowler
Maria is mum to four-year-old Evie who she shares with husband Kelvin Batey, and earlier this year revealed on Instagram that they were preparing to welcome baby number two.Back in 2018, Maria revealed she had suffered a miscarriage, writing on Instagram, "I feel silly even referring to it as a baby as we were really early in the pregnancy and had not yet had a scan but I did grieve and I did feel like I had lost something very special."I feel it is such a cruel twist of fate to get such happy news and then have it taken away. Just like that. No explanation."
7 of 20Chloe Sims
Chloe was already a mum when she joined the cast of TOWIE back in 2011. Her daughter Madison is now 15, and largely stays out of the public eye, although last year Chloe finally revealed Madison's dad was still a close pal, posting a picture to Instagram and writing, "So lots of people have always been interested in who is Maddie's dad, well, here he is..."I was 18, he was 24... all you nosy f--ckers who wanted to know, here he is!"
8 of 20Dan Osborne
TOWIE lothario Dan Osborne already had a son, Teddy, with ex Megan Tomlin when he joined TOWIE. After he was booted in 2015, Dan married EastEnders star Jaqueline Jossa and they have two daughters together, Mia and Ella.
9 of 20Lucy Mecklenburgh
Lucy Mecklenburgh quit TOWIE all the way back in 2013 and since then has had success as an influencer and fitness guru. In 2020 she welcomed her first child with her fiancé, Corrie actor Ryan Thomas, a son they named Roman.
10 of 20Lydia Bright
How cute is this? Long-term best pals Lucy and Lydia were both pregnant at the same time and gave birth just weeks apart. Lydia is going it alone as a single mother to baby Loretta, after splitting with Loretta's dad Lee Cronin during her pregnancy.
11 of 20Ferne McCann
One of TOWIE's most high profile mums, Ferne McCann welcomed her daughter Sunday in 2017following a difficult few months. Shortly before announcing her pregnancy Ferne's boyfriend Arthur Collins was arrested and charged with an acid attack in an East London club that left two victims blind. And weeks before Sunday was born he was sentenced to 20 years.
12 of 20Mario Falcone
TOWIE OG Mario left the show after 15 series, and in 2018 welcomed a son, Parker Jax,with his fiancée Becky Meisner.
13 of 20Chloe Lewis
Chloe quit the show in 2019 after revealing she'd found herself a new relationship and it wasn't long before she and new man Danny Flasher announced they were expecting. They welcomed a healthy baby boy, Beau Lewis, in October 2019.
14 of 20Jake Hall
Meanwhile, Chloe's TOWIE boyfriend Jake Hall went on to have a family of his own. Despite an at times messy relationshipwith Real Housewives of Cheshire's Misse Beqiri, the couple welcomed a daughter in 2018, who they named River.
15 of 20Billi Mucklow
Billi Mucklow, who left TOWIE in 2013, must certainly have her hands full with her huge blended family with footballer fiancé Andy Carroll. The couple are raising Andy's kids from a previous relationship, Lucas and Emilie, and have two of their own together, Arlo and Wolf. In early 2020 they announced they were expecting AGAIN. Phew.
16 of 20Danielle Armstrong
Danielle Armstrong welcomed her first child with long-term pal Tom Edney in May 2020 after being "pregnant forever" and begging fans for tips on inducing labour. She took to Instagram to update followers on the birth, writing, "My world Is complete ud83dudc76ud83cudffcud83dudc95 Orla Mae Edney Born May 26th at 16:30pm, weighing a healthy 8Ibs11".
17 of 20Lauren Pope
Lauren quit TOWIE in 2019 after a staggering nine years on the show. In July 2020, she and her boyfriend welcome a little girl called Raine Anais Keterman.
18 of 20Sam Mucklow and Shelby Tribble
After a whopping three-day labour, Sam and Shelby welcomed their first child, a boy, in November 2020. "Shelby and our beautiful baby boy are both well and healthy," he wrote on Instagram. "Shelby didn't have a straightforward labour so she has been in hospital for five days. She has been an absolute soldier."
19 of 20Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet
TOWIE's power couple Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet welcomed their baby boy Brody on 5th May, 2021. They even reveal that "Mallet" is not actually Tommy's surname, when they introduced baby as Brody Fordham.
20 of 20Lauren Goodger
After years of dreaming of being a mum, Lauren finally welcomed her first child, a daughter called Larose, In July 2021. Sadly when Larose was just a couple of months old, Lauren split from the baby's dad Charles Drury, but is smashing being a single mum.
WATCH EXCLUSIVE: Lauren Goodger reveals her new bootylicious body to Closer
She’s also criticised paparazzi photos of herself, saying she believed they’d been edited to make her look larger. After she was pictured on a walk with her niece recently, weeks after she’d given birth, trolls slammed the photos online, commenting on her weight and the difference between her Instagram pictures and real-life ones.
But Lauren said – despite not being happy with the images – they bothered her less than they had done previously, due to her newfound appreciation for her body.
She says, “In the past, I’ve been really upset over pap photos. These photos were hard to stomach when I saw them – but friends have said they look nothing like me. I look like a giant in those pictures, and I’m actually shorter in real life. My bum is smaller, because I haven’t been able to work out – not how it looked in the pictures.
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“But the photos didn’t affect me like they used to – I have a new respect for my body and what it’s given me. I’m a new mum, I’m healing and my body has changed. I think the trolls need to get a life. No one should be criticising a new mum on her appearance.”
And speaking about potential career plans for the future and the next steps with Charlie – as it’s been previously been reported she’d love to get married – Lauren says, “I’m just so happy in our little family bubble. I’m focusing on each day. I’d love to get married one day, but right now I’m just focusing on being the best mum I can be to Larose – that’s a full-time job!”