While continuing to heal after suffering a series of heartbreaking tragedies last year, Lauren Goodger was pictured looking healthy and smiling as she worked out in a park with her PT.
Her recent social-media blackout sparked fear for her fans who have followed her emotional journey with the tragic death of her baby daughter Lorena just days after her ex-boyfriend Jake McLean died in a car crash.
But they were relieved after an upbeat Lauren, 36, began posting on her Instagram Stories again last week, and has even teased a TOWIE return as part of her goal to reinvent herself this year.
During an Instagram Q&A with fans last week, TOWIE starChloe Brockett was asked by a viewer which “one ex cast member” she would like to come back, replying, “My girl Lauren Goodger. Think she’d be great”.
Lauren then reposted Chloe’s answer, adding, “Haha, and of course I’d be with you”, sending original TOWIE fans wild at the prospect of her return to the ITVBe show.
WATCH: Chloe Brockett speaks out on Lauren Goodger returning to TOWIE
Lauren’s teasing came just a week after an insider revealed how show bosses had been in talks with the TOWIE favourite about returning to the show that made her name – leaving the door “wide open” for her to come back in the hope that an original cast member could “spice things up”.
After joining the hit reality show in 2010, Lauren became a firm favourite with viewers for her feisty humour and tumultuous relationship with ex-fiancé, Mark Wright, before quitting in 2012 after their split.
And while a source says returning to the show could be a great opportunity for Lauren to make a fresh start, they reveal she can’t help but be “haunted” by the heartbreak she suffered with Mark – and fears she might be asked to comment on shamed reality star Stephen Bear’s claims during a revenge porn court case that he slept with her.
The insider says, “Lauren is feeling completely torn right now about her potential return to TOWIE. She’s haunted by her past on the show. But with everything that’s happened to her this last year, she decided it was time to wipe her Instagram feed and start anew. She feels like she’s at a crossroads and is about to start a fresh chapter.
“It’s been on the cards for a while. She’s been asked multiple times and she is keen to do it. It would be a great way for her to set her mind on something new, back on a show she really loved. But she’s still not sure if it’s the right thing and having to open up on her traumas from last year and that court case would, frankly, be too much for her.”
While TOWIE is famous for gossip, drama, and tears, the source adds that friends also worry that “vulnerable” Lauren shouldn’t have to talk about the grief she’s suffered recently.
In July, Lauren – who is mum to one-year-old daughter Larose – tragically lost her second daughter, Lorena, due to complications during her birth. The heartbreaking loss came just days after her ex-boyfriend of five years, Jake McLean, died suddenly in a car crash in Turkey, and grieving Lauren was forced to attend the funerals of both Lorena and Jake within days of each other.
Shockingly, onlookers noticed Lauren’s black eye at Jake’s funeral, after reports emerged that her on-off partner and father to her children, Charles Drury, 25, had allegedly assaulted her on the day of their daughter’s funeral – something he denied.
Just weeks later, Lauren was hit by another bombshell after she was dragged into shamed reality-TV star Stephen Bear’s court case.
Stephen – who has since been found guilty of revenge porn offences and could face up to two years in prison when he’s convicted later this month – was on trial for posting a video of him having sex with his ex-girlfriend, Georgia Harrison, onto X-rated site, OnlyFans.
During the trial in December, Stephen, who has proposed to his current girlfriend while he awaits sentencing, was blasted by a lawyer for boasting about having sex with Lauren and other celebrities when he took to the stand.
Admitting he had been on OnlyFans at the time to subscribe to Lauren’s page, he added in the courtroom, “I’d like to add I’ve slept with Lauren”.
Now the source says, “Lauren was humiliated by her name being dragged up in the Stephen Bear court case. She knows that could potentially be something producers would want her to comment on, but she was mortified by that, it’s a total no-go for her. She’s told friends that if they insist on her talking about that sex scandal it will ruin any chances of her TOWIE return.”
And insiders add that Lauren – who returned to OnlyFans in November and reportedly makes around £1 million a month on the platform – is being warned by pals to take it easy and not rush back into the spotlight.
The insider adds, “Lauren’s pals are begging her to keep a low profile for now and take some much-needed time out of the spotlight. They’re worried about how going back on a reality show could affect her mental health, and when it comes to TOWIE, Lauren has had some really bad experiences.
“She’s previously blamed the producers for interfering with her relationship with Mark and making her look bad, so they don’t know why she would go back and open up her life again. Although Lauren has stressed that she needs to keep working to support herself and feels as though she’s in a vicious cycle.”
