SHE'S been through the ringer when it comes to her love life, but Lauren Goodger is happier than ever now after announcing she's expecting a baby with partner Charles Drury.
The star, 34, confirmed she's just over three months pregnant with her boyfriend, 23, who was previously in a relationship with Katie Price, after the pair went public with their romance last year.
Speaking about the moment she found out, Lauren told New magazine: "I was in bed not well with a cold and I was meant to come on that day and I’m always quite regular.
"We went and bought a test from a bargain shop and I did it – I couldn’t believe it! I rang him and he was like: 'You’re lying, you’re joking'."
It comes after years of heartbreak for the former Towie star, however, who suffered a devastating miscarriage around the time she competed on Dancing On Ice, while also going through a string of high-profile break-ups.
But a source told Sun Online last year of her relationship with Charles: "This is Lauren at her happiest."
Here we look at how she's overcome the heartbreak to find love…
'I’ve been rejected…That’s why I stay in these long relationships'
Lauren hinted at why she had been stuck in unhealthy relationships in the past during her appearance on Celebs Go Dating, revealing that she has a fear of rejection after her mum gave her away to her dad at just four years old.
Lauren said: “When I was four my mum gave me to my dad but kept my older brother and sister.
"She said she couldn’t cope with three on her own. For me that was heartbreaking.”
Agent on the show, Paul, then asked her: “What’s the commonality between your mother and these guys you’ve dated?”
To which Lauren said: “I can only think that I’ve been rejected.
"That’s why I stay in these long relationships when I shouldn’t, and however much they put me through, I still stay there for a long time.”
But our source said last year that she had finally been able to trust Charles.
"They got speaking through friends of friends this summer and he was super confident, complimentary and had this swag she was really attracted to," the source explained.
"He’s not intimidated by her fame or money, he finds her very sexy and confident which is a turn on for him! He is charming and confident and she loves how he praises her and is so attracted to her.
"He’s given her no reason not to trust him, he is at her place pretty regularly – they stay up late into the early hours just hanging out."
But it comes after a difficult few years for the star…
It wasn't Wright with Mark
Lauren dated her Towie co-star Mark from the age of 15 for 11 years, from 2001 to 2012.
The couple even got engaged on the show in 2011, but they split just five months later.
Since then they have regularly exchanged blows in the public eye, with Lauren slamming her ex in the press in the months after their split.
On June 11, 2017, Mark was even forced to deny shocking claims made by Lauren that she believed he was dating her and now-wife Michelle Keegan at the same time.
However, the pair have remained tight-lipped about each other since and Mark is now happily married to ex-Corrie star Michelle Keegan.
'Toxic' on-off relationship with Jake – before devastating miscarriage
After Mark, Lauren’s next long term relationship was with Jake McLean, who she dated from 2012 until 2013.
They then got back together in 2015 – with Lauren even getting his name tattooed on her wrist to cement her love – but the couple broke up for good in 2016.
She has since branded the relationship “toxic".
"My last relationship was toxic and I jumped straight into a relationship with Jake and that turned out to be toxic, too," she told OK! Magazine.
"I don't want that again. I want to find pure love with someone who has nothing but respect for me – until then I'm going to concentrate on myself.
"I don't mean to sound horrible but I'm relieved it's over."
Tragically, Lauren later revealed she suffered a miscarriage around the time she was on Dancing On Ice in 2013, after falling pregnant with Jake.
She told Channel 5's In Therapy in 2017: "I was on a TV show that was quite intense.
"I had to try and perform when I was quite far gone. It didn't last."
Lauren sadly lost the baby, but tried her best not to dwell on the hard time and to focus on the future.
She added: "I'm the type of person who, when something happens, I move on. That's how I am. It's not something I addressed."
Shock romance with jailbird ex
Perhaps her most controversial romance, however, came when she dated jailed Joey Morrison, as he served a lengthy prison sentence for a string of violent drugs-related charges.
It's unclear how the pair first met, but Morrisson has ties to Essex and Lauren has said she's known him for "many years".
Love blossomed in 2016 and Joey gifted Lauren with a ring while she previously spent the Christmas holidays with his family and friends – leading to speculation they might have been engaged.
However, she split from him in August 2018 after he was released from Highpoint South prison.
The furious former Towie star dumped him after The Sun Online revealed he'd been sending pictures of his manhood to women outside prison before his release.
Speaking to her fans after the news broke, Lauren said: "2 years waited loyal and faithful and wasted soooo much money!! Now I am about to live my life with all I’ve missed out on!!!!"
Love at last
Lauren has now built up a very close bond with Charles, with the pair sharing a string of videos of them kissing and cosying up together from word go. And he's even said to have moved into her home after three weeks of dating.
Ultimately, our source said she's happier than ever.
"Lauren falls in love really fast, she's been hurt by a lot by men in the past and wanted time alone to recover from all the past stuff," the source added.
"With Charles, she knew instantly they had this connection.
"When she does meet someone she is all or nothing – goes in head first because she is overwhelmed which is exactly what Charles did, he blew her away.
"It was easy and they clicked and he put in the effort with her. The chat was so easy and the flirting and the chemistry, it all just lined up."
It looks like there's only 'Goodge' times ahead!
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