Towie’s Sam Mucklow faked engagement to Shelby Tribble ‘to ruin ex Nicole Bass’ birthday’
TOWIE'S SAM Mucklow faked an engagement to Shelby Tribble in a bid to "ruin ex Nicole Bass' birthday".
The 27-year-old reality star raised eyebrows with a cryptic post to his Instagram page yesterday that hinted he'd popped the question.
A series of comments from Sam and Shelby's famous pals appeared to confirm the exciting news - but it has now been reported that Sam asked friends to comment to "make the proposal look real".
The post came one day before Sam's ex Nicole's 28th birthday, which is said to have been a calculated move on his part.
An insider explained: "Shelby and Sam aren't really engaged.
"They’re not even in the same country – he's on holiday in Barbados with his family and Shelby is at home."
They added to the : "Sam was keen to make ex Nicole jealous on her birthday and ruin her weekend.
"He wanted the proposal to look real so text several of his famous friends to comment congratulations on his post."
However, it appears that the plan did not work.
A rep for Nicole said: "Nicole hasn’t spoken to Sam in months and she knew nothing of his and Shelby’s engagement until notified."
Sam and Nicole split last September after just six months of dating, with the star going on to find love with 26-year-old Shelby a month later.
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The cruel moves come as it was confirmed that both Sam and Shelby have quit The Only Way Is Essex midway through the current series - stopping filming following the cast trip to Marbella.
Yesterday, Sam shared a photo of himself kissing Shelby alongside the caption: "Who's coming to the wedding?" and a bride and groom emoji.
Towie favourites Liam Gatsby, Courtney Green and Tommy Mallet left their well-wishes on the post, with Liam commenting: "Of course she was gonna say Yes!!!!!! Congrats you two".
Shelby did not comment on the supposed engagement on her own social media page, despite being active online.