It was the romance that rocked the nation, and by the nation we mean the fans of TOWIE and everybody at Closer HQ.
Back in 2021, when rumours started to circulate that James 'Lockie' Lock was romancing Chloe Brockett, nobody could believe it but EVERYBODY had an opinion on it.
Even Roman Hackett, who Chloe recently locked lips with, had admitted, "Oh it shocked me. It shocked me."
But two years on and several hundred series of TOWIE later, it looks as though the duo are back to discussing the will they/won't they relationship after a picture of them looking rather cozy surfaced.
During an exclusive chat with Closer at the launch of Levo, James' brand new gym wear brand, the reality TV star discussed the matter at hand, "She’s a friend, that’s it. She’ll be here today to support. There is nothing in it. She’s just a friend."
Although nothing is to come of the Lockie x Chloe dynamic we had high hopes that a new romance was on the horizon for Essex's answer to Tarzan but the business owner shot down that idea as well.
"There’s no one in the cast that I’ve got my eye on or that I’m interested in. I’ve known them all far too long, it’s all been friend zoned, we’re just colleagues," he added.
Lockie famously dated Yazmin Oukhellou who was "furious" with the romance between Chloe and Lockie back in the day but fast forward to 2023 and not only is Yaz no longer on the show but she's off living her best life in Dubai.
Chloe and Lockie constantly dodged questions about their romantic connection and when she was previously asked about the good looking cast members on TOWIE she admitted, "In Essex there's a few people that are good looking.
"And Lockie being one of them, is that what you're asking? Alright, next question!"
If there's one thing about Chloe, it's that she's honest and doesn't hold back but it turns out the Essex star doesn't have much to say on her current non existent relationship with Lockie.
TOWIE: 11 of the worst love triangles EVER
TOWIE love triangles - slider
1 of 11Mark Wright, Lauren Goodger and Sam Faiers
The OG TOWIE triangle. When we were first introduced to the Essex lot, Mark was dating long term girlfriend Lauren but from the very first episode it was clear that he was less than committed by his outrageous flirting with one Sam Faiers.
2 of 11James 'Arg' Argent, Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins
Gemma and Arg have had more ons and offs than a light-switch at closing time, but before Gemma was Arg's long-term love Lydia. It's been ongoing with Arg and Lydia regularly hanging out, and Arg often talking about how 'close' they are when he was still with Gem.
3 of 11Lauren Pope, Chloe Sims and Mario Falcone
TOWIE OG's Lauren and Chloe formed a close bond during their lengthy reigns as Queen Bees, but in 2014 hit the rocks when they were both played by love rat Mario. But in a sisterly twist, Lauren ended up standing up for Chloe in a showdown with Mario in the penultimate episode of that series.
4 of 11Jake Hall, Chloe Lewis and Lauren Pope
Jake Hall and Chloe Lewis had been dating for an impressive six years when a kiss with Lauren led to them nearly splitting up in 2016. As is often the way in reality telly land, soon after joining the cast as a couple, temptation called and after his rendezvous with the glamour model he lied through his teeth about it for months.
5 of 11Chloe Sims, Amber Turner and Dan Edgar
Dan and Amber had a turbulent relationship from the beginning but during and on/off period in 2019 Dan and Chloe crossed the line from friendship to romance after a holiday fling in Thailand. However, it wasn't long before Dan went back to Amber, leaving Chloe hurt and humiliated.
6 of 11Harry Lee, Frankie Sims and Chloe Brockett
First Chloe and Harry were dating, but after they split in 2019 Harry began cracking on with Chloe Sims little sister Frankie. But WAIT; in October 2019 Harry was caught flirting up a storm with his ex Chloe, leading to a series of blazing rows and the eventual demise of Hankie. Chloe later told Closer, "Harry is a good looking boy. I am close to him."
7 of 11Gemma Collins, Rami Hawash and James Argent
It seems nothing ever ran smoothly with Gemma and Arg. In 2013, Arg was distraught when Gemma got engaged to businessman Rami but their betrothal was short lived and they split in 2014. Cue six years of back-ing and forth-ing with Gemma and Arg, before they eventually split "for good" in 2020, with Gemma now back dating Rami.
8 of 11Shelby Tribble, Sam Mucklow and Tom McDonnell
Shelby and Sam are now proud parents to a bouncing baby boy but it wasn't always smooth sailing between them. During series 24 (and that fateful Thailand trip) Sam and Shelby grew romantic but when Sam had his head turned by Demi Sims, Shelby ended the series snogging Tom.
9 of 11Charlie Sims, Ferne McCann and Jasmin Walia
Charlie and Ferne were an established couple but the series ten trip to Las Vegas certainly rocked their foundations when Charlie gave in to temptation. After sexting Jasmin, Charlie found himself alone with her and the two shared a snog, with him later coming clean to Ferne who was at home in Essex.
10 of 11Diags, Fran Parman and Tom Pearce
This one got VERY complicated, given that Diags and Tom were best mates. While Diags couldn't admit that he was in love with his then housemate Fran, Tom decided to intervene by romancing Fran himself to try and give Diags the kick up the bum he needed. It was looking a bit iffy for a while there, but Diags and Fran ended up dating for three years with his friendship with Tom in tact.
11 of 11Mark Wright, Lauren Goodger and Lucy Mecklenburgh
It was clear it was doomed from the start, wasn't it? In between (!) his flirtations with Sam Faiers and his actual relationship with Lauren Goodger, Mark was romancing a teenaged Lucy, and brought her to Lauren's charity fashion show. Cue tears and lifelong insecurity for our Loz. Sob.