While celebrating her boyfriend Charles Drury’s 24th birthday last week, Lauren Goodger looked glowing as she showed off her blossoming baby bump.
And as she prepares to give birth to their first child this month, pals say the former TOWIE star, 34, wants to extend an olive branch to her ex-fiancé Mark Wright’s family by inviting them to her daughter’s Christening.
A source says, “Lauren still hangs out in the same circles as Mark and his siblings and they have a lot of mutual friends, which can often make things awkward.
“Being pregnant and starting this new chapter in her life, she wants to finally have peace and call a truce on any feuds that are still bubbling beneath the surface, so she thought it would be a nice gesture to at least ask Mark’s family to prove there are no bad feelings on her part. She’ll invite them to the christening.”
The source adds that Mark’s best friend, James “Arg” Argent, 33, will also be invited as he and Lauren have remained close over the years.
Lauren has previously spoken about how she once considered Mark’s family as her own – after having a difficult and fractured relationship with her biological family growing up.
In 2012, she told Mark’s mum Carol on TOWIE, “I love you as a mother, you’ve been like a mum to me”, with Carol responding, “Me and [Mark’s sister] Jessica have always been there for you.”
But a few months later, Lauren and Jess spectacularly fell out shortly after Lauren’s 10-year relationship with Mark ended – resulting in a fight at Faces nightclub in Essex, with Jess sporting a missing clump of hair and Lauren a cut lip.
Lauren and Mark have also had a number of public spats, with Mark even Tweeting Lauren from his honeymoon with wife Michelle Keegan in 2015, begging her to “respect my wife and STOP” [talking about them], while Lauren lashed out that Mark thought he was “The King of Essex”after claiming he got her thrown out of local eatery Sheeshbecause he was there at the same time.
Since then, however, bitterness between the Wrights and Lauren seems to have thawed. In a chat with Closer in 2015,Lauren stressed there was no tension between her and the rest of the family. She said, “When I see Jess and Carol, they are lovely and say hello. And that’s it, we’re all adults and I’m not in the show any more so I don’t need that drama going on or being torn into pieces.”
Pals sayLauren – who quit TOWIE because she “didn’t want drama” in her life – wants to call a truce once and for all with Mark and Michelle so she can move on with her new chapter without any bitterness.
The source says, “Lauren is extremely forgiving – she doesn’t like grudges because she doesn’t like feeling anxious. She is open about suffering from anxiety, and she feels that living in a hostile environment makes that worse for her.
“Also, the Wrights were a big part of Lauren’s life for 10 years. She thought a lot of them at one time so she would love a chance for a proper catch up.”
Lauren previously revealed she’d always longed to be a mum after struggling with her own family dynamic. She felt “abandoned” as a child, after her mum left her with her dad at just four years old because she couldn’t cope – but kept her older brother and sister.
When announcing her pregnancy in January, she even admitted she hadn’t told her estranged dad about it, saying, “The more effort I make, the more I feel like I’m being set up to fail.”
She has had counselling for her past issues and when previously asked about the link between her childhood and her relationship problems, Lauren said on Celebs Go Dating, “I can only think it’s because I’ve been rejected.”
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.
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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...
She has also battled mental health issues over the years, including anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. At the beginning of last year, she opened up about having a spate of panic attacks after coming off anti-depressant medication and, in August, she revealed she’d gone back into therapy to help with anxiety.
But since falling pregnant, Lauren says she has been “more calm”. She has had hypnotherapy and practises meditation to ease her worries.
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And pals say impending motherhood has given her an opportunity to reflect.
The source adds, “Lauren wants to go all-out for the Christening and wait until the pandemic restrictions have been fully lifted so she can have a big bash. She has spent most of her pregnancy and her relationship with Charles in lockdown, so now is the chance to really show it off as she’s proud of what she’s achieved.
“The lockdowns have made her reassess a lot of things in her life and she says it’s time to finally let bygones be bygones and prove she’s moved on with no hard feelings.”
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