The Only Way Is Essex star Lauren Goodger has opened up about experiencing "scary" panic attacks and suggests they contributed to her decision to stop drinking alcohol.
The reality TV star, 37, has faced difficult experiences in recent years, including the loss of her second daughter Lorena, who passed away just minutes after being born in 2022. The birth was less than a week after Lauren's ex-partner Jake McLean had died. She's also been through ups and downs in her tumultuous relationship with her ex-partner Charles Drury, who is also the father of her daughter Larose, two.
Lauren spoke to OK! magazine recently and shared that her priority at the moment is being a parent to her daughter Larose and protecting her mental health. She teased that quitting alcohol has been part of her efforts.
She said in the interview: "I haven't really drank much now for the last four years. It's only on odd occasions mainly because of becoming a mum and also the trauma of losing my daughter, plus everything else that I went through around that time. It was horrendous."
"I'd get panic attacks and anxiety when I drank. I did try drinking a few times a couple of months apart, but it never agreed with me. I get anxiety and panicky with or without alcohol but [the panic attacks] were scary," she continued.
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Lauren - who was an original cast member on the ITVBe show, which launched in 2010, but later left in 2015 - told the outlet that she loved an occasion pornstar martini, glass of wine or prosecco. She however shared that her 'days of partying' are behind her.
Discussing her decision, she said: "I decided to go sober because I just wanted to heal from everything that happened in my life. I wasn't heavily drinking, but when I did have a drink it just made me feel worse. I'm not sure if I will ever drink again."
Lauren Goodger opened up about no longer drinking alcohol in a recent interview (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She spoke about the experience amid her recent return to the Only Way is Essex (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images)The reality TV star reflected on her choice, saying: "I think removing alcohol was a wise move. Your emotions can be all over the place with it. Now I'm in bed quite early, I still socialise, but I don't drink alcohol. I had the most amazing years growing up, clubbing and holidays but drinking isn't part of my lifestyle right now."
Lauren acknowledged in the interview that she will "never say never" to the possibility of drinking in the future. She however suggested that she's more interested at the moment in 'focusing on the positives in life'.
She's said to be particularly excited about her return to TOWIE and this week gave fans a glimpse of the first TV appearance of her daughter Larose. There had been speculation of her potential return for years and the time now felt right.
"I feel like I'm on the up, and going back to TOWIE has helped with that," she beamed. "I've suffered with my mental health but I am on a healing journey. I'm in a much better place since coming back to TOWIE."
Lauren also spoke about confronting her past and shared that therapy and her latest career have been a 'turning point' in her life. She said: "I have had therapy but I've not had any sessions in the last couple of months so I need to book my next session in. I definitely feel TOWIE has given me a boost. It's like the old Lauren is coming back a bit again which is nice."
Fans have been looking forward to Lauren gracing their screens once more after she bid goodbye to the show in its sixth series. Despite admitting that diving back into filming popped her "mum bubble," the former Celebrity Big Brother housemate teased that she felt right at home once she returned. "The reaction to the first few episodes has been absolutely amazing," Lauren gushed. "We hit 1.2 million views on my first episode so I know the team were over the moon."
Lauren also referenced her ex Mark Wright - who is now married to actor Michelle Keegan - in the interview. The reality TV star had a tattoo of his name in an intimate area on her body but has since said that she's had the inking removed.
Discussing the former tattoo of her ex, whom she was in a relationship with for several years until they split in 2011, Lauren said: "I removed my Mark tattoo a long time ago. It was on series two of TOWIE. It's just been brought back to life as Amy [Childs] and I discussed it on the show last week. As you can imagine another man’s name tattooed on me wouldn’t really go down well with new partners."
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