Shortly before the first lockdown last March, Sam Faiers and her family moved from Essex to a rented £2.25m mansion in a posh suburb of Surrey, and last week she gushed over her new set of friends.
Posting a series of snaps on Instagram from a boozy night out with three pals, Sam, 30, told her 2.5m Instagram followers, “Moved to Surrey over a year ago now. We literally didn’t know anyone. I’m so grateful for these ladies. We couldn’t all be anymore [sic]different – it just works.”
The group includes former football star Ashley Cole’s girlfriend, Sharon Canu. Sharon’s son Jaxon is friends with Sam’s five-year-old son, Paul – who she shares with long-term partner, Paul Knightly, also dad to their daughter Rosie, three.
In another snap enjoying a country walk with her new pals, Sam – who now refers to herself as Samantha – captioned the post, “WAGs in the woods”.
And while the former TOWIE star – who shot to fame as one of the show’s original cast members in 2010 – seems happier than ever in her new home, insiders say her move has created a rift between her and sister, Billie, 31, who she’s always been close to.
A source says, “While Billie’s happy she’s managed to settle in and adjust so well following the move – especially during the pandemic – she feels Sam’s become a bit distant from her and many of her oldest friends.
“She knows it’s not intentional and that lockdown has made it harder to see people, but Billie feels Sam’s turned her back on her old life.
“Being so close in age, they have always shared the same friendship circle. But with Sam now having a whole new group of friends who Billie doesn’t even know, it’s left her feeling a bit cut off. She understands Sam has her own family now, but she still feels sad that they’ve grown apart.”
Sam’s loved ones made no secret of their upset over her move, which Billie dubbed “selfish” during an episode of The Mummy Diaries in 2016.
CHECK OUT the TOWIE mums and dads
TOWIE babies slider
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 Ferne McCann teases TOWIE 10 year reunion 😱
After learning of her sister’s intentions to relocate to Surrey – with the move taking place last March – Billie told the camera crew, “I was a bit shocked. I was like, ‘Why do you want to live in Surrey when all your family live in Essex? Trying to get away from us are you?’
“I actually think it’s quite selfish for her to move to Surrey because I won’t be able to see Paul as much.”
And she didn’t hold back when confronting her sister to her face in a later scene – telling her, “I think you’d feel isolated if you move somewhere where you’ve got no friends, no family.”
Meanwhile, her BFF and former Celebrity Big Brother co-star, Luisa Zissman, 33, also expressed her dismay over her pal’s controversial move.
In The Mummy Diaries last year, the mum-of-three said, “Why are you going to Surrey? It doesn’t make sense.” Billie nodded in agreement as Luisa continued, “You’ll be completely cut off from all your family and friends.”
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Sam was notably absent from Billie’s catch-up last week with former TOWIE co-star Ferne McCann – who has been best pals with the Faiers sisters since their school days. Ferne, 30, uploaded a pic of her enjoying a glass of champagne with Billie, captioning it, “Friends become our chosen family.... Ahhhh & I cannot tell you how good this feels. To cuddle and drink indoors with my bestie.”
And sources say Ferne and other friends also feel a void has opened up between them.
“Sam always embraced her roots and was a die-hard Essex girl, but those who know her best feel like she’s changed to fit in with her new friends.
“Sam insists she’ll never forget where she came from and is still there for all her pals.
She made the decision to move as it felt right for her family and hopes that, in time, her loved ones will accept that and realise she’s still the same person she always was.”
Read more in this week's Closer magazine, out now