She made a shock comeback to TOWIE earlier this month after a six-year hiatus from the ITVBe show, with her return being revealed as the most watched launch episode in three years. And as we catch up with Lauren Goodger, she says her feet haven’t touched the ground in recent weeks.
“I’m absolutely shattered – but I’m surviving,” says Lauren, 37, who shares two-year old daughter, Larose, with ex Charles Drury. “I’ve just moved house, I’m a single mum and I’ve been busy filming TOWIE – after this week, I’m turning my phone off!”
She adds, “It’s been stressful, but coming back to TOWIE feels like home. There’s no drama and it’s great to be with Amy Childs – she’s been asking me to come back for two years so she has someone her own age! It’s actually nice to make new friends too. There’s a lot of love for the OG cast. The production staff make me feel like royalty – it’s like they’re in awe!”
Despite her upbeat nature, Lauren – who first appeared on TOWIE in 2010, where she famously dated ex-fiancé Mark Wright – has faced a turbulent time in her personal life. In 2022, her ex-boyfriend Jake McLean died in a car crash in Turkey. Then, just days later, she revealed the devastating news
that her newborn baby, Lorena, had died minutes after birth when her umbilical cord had caught around her neck.
In the same year, the star also split from Charles, and he was recently cleared in court for assaulting her. After staying away from the limelight, Lauren accepts it’ll take “a long time to heal” from her tragedies, but says going back to her “reality TV show roots” has helped.
She says, “With everything I went through, I’ve not completely healed, but this is the start of a new journey. Time has helped and I’ve had some therapy. I feel like I’m constantly in flight or fight mode with anxiety because of the trauma, but it’s about taking small steps.
"Larose knows everything about her little sister. I’ve got Lorena’s picture in my locket, she points to it and says ‘baby’. It was the right time to go back to TOWIE because it’s reminded me who I am and given me the confidence I needed.”
And while she’s turned over a new leaf in her TV career, Lauren wants a fresh start with her looks too. The star is no stranger to surgery, having had a breast enlargement in 2014, taking her from a 34D to an E. And she recently admitted she’d flown to Turkey in 2017 to have a Brazilian Butt Lift and has had Botox and fillers.
But despite spending thousands to enhance her looks, she admits she wants to get rid of her fake boobs and bum in a bid to look more natural.
“When I had everything done, I looked the boll*cks,” she says proudly. “My boobs looked amazing, I loved how I looked in pictures and all the attention. But now I wish I’d never had anything. I want it all out. My bum and boobs make me look bigger and cause me pain. I want to reverse it all and go back to natural.”
She adds, “When you have kids, your boobs blow up! I’ve got lumps and bumps everywhere and it feels heavy and uncomfortable. I had lovely boobs, there was nothing wrong with them, but I was on holiday in Antigua and I saw a girl who had a fake pair and looked amazing. I said to Jake [McLean], ‘I want those boobs!’ Within a week I’d had them done on Harley Street. I had a great time with them, but if I knew they’d only get bigger, I wouldn’t have had them. We don’t know the long-term effects of implants either.”
She adds that Brazilian Butt Lift surgery has also left her riddled with back pain. “My bum is absolutely mahoosive,” she laughs. “That Kardashian look was in fashion and everyone was going to one particular place in Turkey. I asked around and thought, ‘Let’s do it’. I was toned and slim, and just wanted a big bum too. Now, when I lift Larose, my back is in bits.”
As well as wanting to get back to her natural look, Lauren says she wants to set a good example to Larose. She says, “Every single photograph of me looks like a different person! After I finish filming, I’m going to get my lips dissolved. I’m always looking at surgeons and if I could, I’d get it all taken out today, but the thought of leaving Larose just gives me anxiety.
“If she ever wanted to go down this route, I’d talk her out of it and tell her to wait, because your body and face change with age. I tell her she’s beautiful every day.”
Meanwhile, despite her rocky romantic life, Lauren is hopeful she’ll find love again, and admits she’s not been short of offers since her TV return. “There’s been some interest,” she teases. “I’ve had a lot of attention and a few DMs. I haven’t slept with anyone in four years other than my kids’ dad and I’m still healing, but I want to get married and of course have more babies one day. Give it a couple of years and I’ll find happiness again."
