Sam Faiers reveals why she won’t return for Towie reunion – despite the show netting her a £9million fortune
TOWIE babe Sam Faiers has told how she will NOT attend the hit ITV2 show’s ten-year reunion this year, saying: “I’m at a different stage of life now”.
The original main star of the reality hit, who appeared for four years and dated Joey Essex, has now made a £9million fortune through books, clothing lines and perfume — a wealth only her co-star Mark Wright can match.
But in an exclusive interview, Sam has revealed she will not join fellow veterans Mark, Joey, Lauren Goodger and Amy Childs for a one-off celebration.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday about the on-screen reunion planned for October, Sam, 29, said: “I won’t be getting involved because, to be honest, it’s like I’m at a completely different stage in my life now.
“I don’t even know what I would do on there any more.
“I’ve got my own life with my kids, and Towie is ten years ago for me. You just can’t compare my life then to my life now.”
She added: “If someone had said to me back then, in ten years, you’re going to have your own long-running TV show and loads of lucrative endorsements, I would have just laughed and said, ‘Yeah right!’”
To mark the tenth anniversary of the hit show, which brought us the vajazzle and sayings including “Shut Up” and “Reem”, Sam opened up about feeling more “sexy and sophisticated” than she did a decade ago.
She reveals how she now holidays alongside A-list stars including Noel Gallagher and Cara Delevingne but still makes time for online quiz nights with her old Towie pals.
‘Ten years ago it was just fun’
Sam starred in 11 series of the reality show starting in August 2010 before branching out with her older sister Billie in 2016 with ITVBe’s even more successful Mummy Diaries.
The latter show chronicles the highs and lows of family life with her partner Paul Knightley and their two young children, Paul Junior and Rosie.
It also covers the star’s lucrative endorsements, deals with brands including Pampers and River Island, perfumes, clothing lines and a series of book deals which have made her hugely wealthy.
Sam admits her life as she approaches her 30th birthday is unrecognisable now.
She said: “It’s all just literally flipped and changed.
“Obviously ten years ago, when I first started TV, I was only 19 so it was fun, I had nothing to lose. It was a bit of an experience, I suppose.
“Being on The Only Way Is Essex was my first big thing I’d ever done and it was so successful and so great but if someone had told me when I was 19 that ten years later I’d be living the life I am now . . .
“Now, I look back and think, ‘I did have the best time ever’, but I was quite smart and clever with jobs, in terms of investments and buying my first house and stuff like that.”
Despite leaving Towie, she still enjoys online quizzes with old friends from the show.
She said: “I said to the girls, ‘Let’s do a quiz — something a bit of fun to do’. Because all us girls, we’ve got a group chat on WhatsApp, and obviously we all miss each other.
“Most of my friends are now mums as well, so we’re all in the same boat.
“The quizzes went on for about two hours. I think I had maybe three or four glasses of wine.
“But that was quite nice to relax. Some of the questions are ridiculous, but it’s just nice to laugh with your friends.”
Sam began renting a fabulous £2.4million, five-bedroom, five-bathroom property in Surrey weeks before Britain went into lockdown in March, while looking for a house to buy in the area.
She said of her career: “It’s not just luck. I took the gamble and it worked out. I was launching things like my perfume, books, clothing and bedding.
“I always had a project. Every time I thought, ‘What’s next?’ And I just didn’t rest on my laurels.
“And I think the reason why Mummy Diaries is still running and it’s so successful is that we don’t try to hide anything.
“I’m not trying to be somebody I’m not, and Billie and I share everything on the show with our kids.”
As well as a financial transformation Sam has changed her image too.
With the fake tan long gone, she said: “Do I feel different and more sophisticated now? Absolutely. As times change from when you’re young, your hair changes, your make-up, your whole persona.
“Most of the time I’m just hair up, gym-wear, no make-up, usual mum attire, but I do definitely think I look better today than I did ten years ago. I think I’ve blossomed.”
‘Let’s just enjoy our own kids first’
Sam still likes to feel sexy sometimes — posting a selfie of herself wearing a cowboy outfit and skimpy Daisy Duke shorts last month.
She said: “You know what? When you’re a mum, sometimes you think, ‘Is that too sexy?’ Five years ago, before kids, I would always post things like that.
“But when you’re a mum and looking after the children and stuff, it happens less often. I’m actually more happy.
“I posted it because I feel quite proud at the moment that I’ve lost a bit of weight and feeling good about myself and obviously it’s always nice to read comments like, ‘stunning’, ‘beautiful’, ‘sizzling’, and, ‘yummy mummy’.
“I value my followers’ feedback and it gives me motivation and inspiration to be even more of a role model.
“Paul doesn’t really say anything. He’s not really one to comment. But I can tell that he likes it, yeah!”
The couple, who have been dating since 2014, are yet to get engaged.
But after watching her sister Billie tie the knot with her fiancé Greg Shepherd 12 months ago, Sam is certain she won’t be far behind.
“He hasn’t gone down on one knee yet,” she confirms, “but we talk about marriage quite a lot, and we will definitely get married. I just feel like I’ve got all that to look forward to.
“It was so fun planning my sister’s wedding, the hen dos, trying on the dresses and all the planning.
“I was heavily involved in all that, and I just think now, when the time’s right, it’s going to be my turn and I’m so excited.
“I always say to him, ‘I think I know what kind of grandparent I’m going to be’. And he’s like, ‘OK, well let’s just enjoy our own kids first’.
“To me, motherhood is the best thing in the whole world.
“I know that my calling in life was to be a parent. I just love being a mum.”
But Sam still can’t believe quite where she’s got to — considering where she started. This is highlighted by her new favourite place to go on holiday . . . the Maldives.
She said: “It’s the one place where I switch off and have the best time.
“Last Christmas we were there and the island was full of celebs.
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“I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ There was Cara Delevingne. There was Rita Ora. And who’s the rock star, Gallagher? One of the Gallagher brothers, the older one, Noel. Jaime Winstone. There was a huge New Year’s Eve party.”
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TOWIE TO NOWIE IN A DECADE
AGE
Now: 29.
2010: 19.
FORTUNE
Now: Estimated £9million.
2010: £50-a-day modelling for lads’ mags.
STYLE
Now: Chic, yummy mummy gym wear and stylish evening outfits.
2010: Essex-themed diamante necklaces and hair extensions.
HOLIDAYS
Now: Maldives for Christmas and New Year and her New Year’s Eve birthday.
2010: Marbs and Majorca.
HOME
Now: Rented £2.4million, five- bedroom, five-bathroom Surrey mansion.
2010: Three-bedroom £400,000 home in Brentwood, Essex.
JOB
Now: Mummy Diaries TV show, investments, books, perfume, clothes and bedding line.
2010: Model for the likes of Nuts mag.
HOLIDAY PALS
Now: Jaime Winstone, Rita Ora.
2010: Towie’s Amy Childs.
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