They were quite the power couple during the early TOWIE days but in 2016 James Argent and Lydia Bright split following a turbulent relationship.
Five years later and it appears that they're on good terms after Arg admitted they're now "such close friends".
Speaking about his "first love" Arg explained, "Me and Lydia are extremely close again — we have kept that low-key and behind closed doors."
He went on to tell The Sun, "Obviously she’s had a beautiful baby and she’s a single mother now.
"She’s a real friend and she and her mum have been an incredible support to me.
"I’m very fond of Lydia," he added.
Following their split Arg has been in an on/off relationship with Gemma Collins and Lydia has since had baby Loretta with her ex-boyfriend Lee Cronin.
And Arg isn't the only one who has opened up about their friendship because late last year Lydia spoke out about being in contact with him.
"Yes we are still good friends and our families are very close. I will always care for Arg, we have so much history," she told her Instagram followers.
Check out: James Argent weight loss journey
James Argent weight loss journey - slider
1 of 16James Argent - 2010
Arg is an OG TOWIE star and when the series first aired back in 2010 he was in a relationship with Lydia Bright.
2 of 16James Argent - 2014
James was suspended from the reality show that threw him into the limelight following allegations that he failed a drug test.
3 of 16James Argent - 2015
The reality star decided to switch up his lifestyle and enter rehab; he even spent Christmas Day at The Priory (the same rehab facility Katie Price spent time in during September 2018). A few months later the reality star revealed on This Morning that it was "the best decision" he has ever made.
4 of 16James Argent - 2016 (March)
In 2016 after gaining weight, Arg attended two weight loss retreats; one in Norfolk and the other in Ibiza. After his fitness overhaul the TOWIE star dropped from 19st 1lb to 16st. He also went from 48 to 40 inches around his waist.
5 of 16James Argent - 2016 (July)
Arg told The Sunthat waking up at 6am helped him feel like a "new man". He explained: "I am not going to lie - it has been incredibly tough and, yes, I have had the odd lapse."But I am thrilled to have lost three-stone and I do genuinely feel like a new man."
6 of 16James Argent - 2016 (October)
At the end of 2016, Arg confessed on Instagram that he was "gutted at how unfit" he was. However he ended his post on a positive and insisted: "I'll get there and maintain it this time!"
7 of 16James Argent - 2017
In 2017 Arg flew out to a rehab facility in Thailand. He spent 10 weeks out there and manages to lose another stone. Arg's friend Jack Tweed revealed all the fitness activities he had been doing during his time abroad."He said he's been doing loads of stuff like Muay Thai boxing, jungle trekking, abseiling down waterfalls and zip lining."He's been eating really healthy food and he's lost over a stone. Arg is in a really good place at the moment and I hope he keeps it up, for his sake and his family's sake," he told new! magazine.
8 of 16James Argent - 2018
The on-off TOWIE couple (Arg and Gemma) split in July 2018 but then reunited the following month. After getting back together, Arg decided to take a break from the ITVBe show and seek treatment. A source told The Sun: "James was under a dark cloud recently and has made the brave decision to enter back into a programme to help him get back on track."He has been attending regular therapy and secondary care at an outpatient treatment facility in London."
9 of 16James Argent - 2019
Despite struggling with his weight, Arg posted a video of the GC snoring and apparently fat-shamed her. It resulted in him being dumped but the pair reunited and managed to move on from the incident.
10 of 16James Argent - 2019
In April, weight loss professional Steven Miller revealed he was concerned about James Argent's weight and even warned he could be on 'death row'.
11 of 16James Argent - 2019
Following the warning the reality star revealed he was taking up boxing to kick start his weight loss. He then vowed on This Morning to take control of his weight after Dr Ranj revealed he was significantly obese, long term he needed to lose 10 stone and drop 17 inches off his waist.
12 of 16James Argent - 2019
Despite being dumped by the GC earlier on in the year after fat-shaming her, he then appeared to make more mean comments about her figure on her TV show. Fans urged Gemma to split from her boyfriend following his 'disgusting' insults.
13 of 16James Argent - 2019
In August as Arg prepared to swim the English Channel for Stand Up To Cancer it came to light that in the past two years he has gained ten stone.
14 of 16James Argent - 2019
Although they didn't swim the entire English Channel, the Stand Up To Cancer team got pretty far before the weather conditions made them cut their journey short. Following his stint, Arg revealed he was heading back to the gym before teasing bigger things are on the horizon in 2020.He wrote on Instagram: "I'm going to have the biggest comeback of 2020!!! "After a few years of absence I'm now officially a member of @davidlloydchigwellofficial My 1st swim ud83cudfca♂ufe0f since attempting the epic challenge of the #EnglishChannel Its good to be back! ud83dude4cud83cudffd❤ufe0f".
15 of 16James Argent - 2020
At the beginning of 2020 it was reported that Arg flew out to Thailand and entered rehab following allegations of a 'second overdose'.
16 of 16James Argent - 2020
While flogging curries on Instagram, Arg showed off his impressive five-stone weight loss.
Last month a source opened up to Closer magazine and admitted that following Lydia's revelation about still being in contact with her ex, Gemma’s insecurities over their on/off relationship were reignited.
"Gemma knows Arg shares a huge amount of history with Lydia and understands they will always care about one another, but seeing that snap posted publicly of them FaceTiming really stung.
"It was a miserable reminder of all those years she felt second-best to Lydia," they told us.
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Insiders went on to say that while Gemma respects Arg’s history with Lydia she’s issued him an ultimatum that if he wants a romance with her, then there has to be boundaries.
"Gemma’s told Arg she can’t move forward with Lydia constantly in the background. They’ve already been through so much, Gemma doesn’t want anything or anyone causing any unnecessary drama between them. If they’re going to make a go of this, she needs to know she’s his number one.
"She isn’t saying he must cut Lydia out – and she and Lydia get on, too – but she wants him to keep her completely in the loop with how much contact there is, as she felt humiliated after their phone calls were made public," the source added.