Insiders say that Lauren Goodger's determination for a family has led her back to jailbird ex Joey Morrison
Lauren Goodger's made no secret of her desire to find a husband and start a family, recently insisting, "I can’t wait to have a baby, get some routine, get married and live happily ever after".
And after being spotted on numerous occasions with her jailbird ex Joey Morrisonin recent weeks, insiders say Lauren Goodger is eager to have a baby with the criminal and follow in the footsteps of her "mummy" TOWIE co-stars – including Ferne McCann and Sam Faiers.
Check out: TOWIE's millionaire mummy club
TOWIE's millionaire mummy club - stacked
1 of 3Amy Childs
She left the reality show after the second series, but Amy became the first TOWIE millionaire just a year later in 2012. In 2017, the 28-year-old welcomed daughter Polly with ex Bradley Wright, then gave birth to a son a year later with her boyfriend Ritchie. That same year, she was said to be worth £5m through her mummy and fashion ranges, eyelashes and perfumes.
2 of 3Sam and Billie Faiers
Sisters Sam and Billie quit the show in 2014 and 2016 respectively and have gone on to launch their hugely successful ITVBe spin-off series The Mummy Diaries. Aside from their reality success, Sam – who is mum to Paul, three, and Rosie, one, with partner Paul Knightley; and Billie – who has Nelly, four, and Arthur, two, with husband Greg Shepherd – have made an estimated joint fortune of £7m through clothing brand collaborations and sponsored social media posts.
3 of 3Ferne McCann
After leaving TOWIE in 2015, Ferne became a household name on I'm A Celeb!. She welcomed daughter Sunday in November 2017 as a single mum, after her ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins was jailed for an acid attack. She gained an army of fans after documenting her emotional journey on her reality series First Time Mum. Ferne, 28, also has a clothing line with MissPap and a fitness DVD, and was said to have raked in almost half a million in 2017 alone.
A source says, "Lauren’s been single for a while and has come to the conclusion that there’s no one better out there for her but Joey.
"She dreamed of starting a family with him when they were together and believes he’d be a good dad, no matter what.
"She’s remaining tight-lipped to friends about whether they’re officially back together, but admits they’ve been spending lots of nights in at her flat and she loves their chemistry."
Lauren, 32, endured a bitter split from Joey last summer after he was caught messaging a string of other women. She was then left hurt in January when he called her "the ultimate catfish" on social media and insisted he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her after he was released last September.
But the pair have appeared to reconcile their friendship in recent months, with Lauren even describing Joey as "family" on a night out.
The source adds, "Pals have warned Lauren about jumping into things too quickly and having a baby with Joey just because she wants one.
"They’ve urged her to focus on dating someone new, but fear Lauren’s hooked on a bad boy and loves how dangerous it feels being with Joey.
"Plus, she believes that having a baby would not only make her happier, but would also be amazing for her popularity and career."
Recently, Joey was spotted picking up Lauren in his car after a night out, and last week was pictured appearing to do building work at Chloe Sim’s Essex shop – which she closed in January – amid rumours Lauren has taken it over.
Since the launch of TOWIE in 2010, her co-stars Ferne and Sam, both 28, have created lucrative baby empires out of motherhood, launching their own reality TV shows and creating businesses and clothing ranges for babies.
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Meanwhile, Lauren has appeared to hint at her eagerness to earn money. Last year, her companies LRG Marketing and LJM management – which listed Joey as a person with "significant control" – were dissolved. She previously revealed that she planned to create her own Only Fans account – an app known for pay-per-view explicit content.
She also revealed to fans she was eager to star on reality show Celebs Go Dating and make a return to TOWIE. Earlier this month, she was spotted trying to sell a Chanel bag for twice the retail price and her old gym bras on second-hand shopping app Depop.
The source says, "Lauren has seen Ferne, Sam and her sister Billie all go on to have successful baby reality shows and she wants to replicate that.
"She thinks that getting back on TOWIE, and being pregnant on the show, could be the way to do it. She’d love her own baby spin-off show too and thinks it’s the next logical chapter for her career."