Who is Lauren Pope? The DJ who’s quit Towie
TOWIE fans were thrilled when Lauren Pope returned to the hit ITVBe series.
Here's what you need to know about the reality star and businesswoman...
Who is Lauren Pope?
Lauren Pope, 36, is a former Sun Page 3 model and began her career as a DJ in 2007.
She was later branded the "world's sexiest DJ" by Nuts magazine.
The Towie star appears in Calvin Harris' music video for Ready for the Weekend.
In March 2017 she was devastated when a naked video she appeared in was leaked to a porn website.
Why did Lauren Pope quit Towie?
Lauren Pope quit the show – after nine years onscreen to spend more time with her boyfriend.
Lauren wanted to focus on her Hair Rehab extensions business as well as her budding relationship with new boyfriend Tony Keterman.
Lauren told The Sun Online: “After an amazing nine years on The Only Way Is Essex I have decided that now is the natural time for me to leave.
“I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities that the show has brought my way and have loved being part of the cast.
“On top of that, Lime [Pictures, who make the show] have become an extended family to me and I’ll be forever grateful for their guidance and support over the years.
“Nonetheless, I feel now is the time for me to move on so I can focus my attention wholeheartedly on my business ventures and personal relationship.”
Insiders suggested that she may return for cameo appearances:
“She’s always travelling and her business is hugely successful, so she doesn’t have enough time to appear on Towie full time.
“It doesn’t mean she won’t pop back occasionally – with Chloe dating her ex Dan now, I’m sure she’d have some advice for Chloe!”
A spokesperson for the hit ITVBe show bid the star a warm farewell: “We wish Lauren all the best as she focuses on her new relationship and growing business ventures.
“She’s been such a big part of TOWIE’s success and will always be part of our TOWIE family. We hope to see her back in Essex soon!”
Who has Lauren previously dated?
Lauren is currently loved up with businessman Tony Keterman.
She first confirmed the romance in a pic of the lovebirds kissing in Thailand in January.
Prior to her newfound love she had a romance with fellow Towie star Sam Mucklow in 2018.
Lauren had been previously been seeing Towie regular Jon Clark, although he ended the relationship because he didn't think he was good enough for her.
Before that she was linked to Dan Edgar, revealing she had a secret romance with him in 2015.
News of the fling broke hours before Lauren was spotted wrapped around Dan at a Towie pool party in May in plain sight of his former flame, Amber Turner.
Lauren has dated another of Amber's ex-boyfriends Jamie Reed.
In 2016 Lauren was briefly seeing Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers.
He confirmed their split and denied spitting food at her during drunken row in Dubai.
She has also dated fellow Towie stars, Kirk Norcross and love rat Lewis Bloor.
And let's not forget she once turned down Prince Harry.
What were Lauren's big storylines on The Only Way Is Essex?
Most of Lauren Pope's storylines initially involved Kirk, who appeared to be be besotted by her. They dated for a while until he dumped her in series 2.
But later viewers grew to love her relationship with Chloe Sims - until the pair became embroiled in a massive feud over love rat Mario Falcone that seemed like it would never end.
She also briefly dated Tom Pearce in series 5.
Speaking about the reason she quit the series, she told the at the time: "I kind of had no mates left. The last series was not a fun series for me and I think the fun kind of went from Towie for me, and it made my decision a lot easier."
Lauren lashed out at Towie bosses for giving her "constant anxiety and stress" and messing with her life - she quit the show in 2015.
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What else does Lauren Pope do?
As well as showing off her toned abs in the sizzling Dubai sun, Lauren has many business ventures.
In 2016 she launched the Training Academy for hairdressers wanting to learn about fitting hair extensions.
She has also got her own clothing line and brand of clip-in hair extensions (Hair Rehab London).