She wowed in a hot-pink bikini as she posed for the cameras in Dubai last week – and Sam Faiers looked completely at ease showing off her toned figure.
But it hasn’t been an easy journey for the ex-TOWIE beauty, who appeared emaciated after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in January last year.
Sam was hit by stomach cramps, sickness and diarrhoea while on Celebrity Big Brother and was later diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease. But a source close to the star reveals that, over the past year, she’s overhauled her lifestyle and is now in control of her health.
A source says: “Sam didn’t enjoy being so skinny – she felt she looked ill. She feels more confident now she’s got her boobs and bum back. She’s aiming to maintain her healthy size 8 figure and loves showing off her body.”
Although Sam has always been slim, the star revealed she wasn’t happy with her body while on TOWIE, admitting that her diet of takeaways and crisps and frequent boozy nights out meant she felt bloated and like "I let myself go a little bit.”
Read the full story in this week’s Closer – out now