Sad news, TOWIE fans.
Lauren Pope, who we'd always kind of assumed/hoped was a The Only Way Is Essex fixture, is said to be leaving the show.
Nooooooooo!
But rather than stropping off in a blaze of glory, Lauren is thought to be quitting as she has too many other commitments. Which major fans of her chiselled cheekbones and way with a pithy put-down might consider to be rather selfish.
Hey, we're just thinking of our future TOWIE pleasure here.
“Lauren is juggling a few businesses, with her Hair Rehab extensions doing brilliantly at the moment. The company have done celebs including Little Mix’s hair and now it’s going global,” a source said.
“But filming keeps talking up so much of her time. The cast spend a lot of time hanging around on set, and she doesn’t think she can commit to doing that for another series.
"Producers wanted her to stay, but she has too much on at the moment. She has invested in several other business opportunities and she needs to be present at meetings both in the UK and the US.
“She’s also had a couple of other TV offers, which she might test the water with,”
a source told The Mirror.
So, there is hope that we'll still be getting a Pope injection on our telly-boxes, just not in a TOWIE way.
Lauren has been a major fixture on the ITVBe show for an incredible 16 series during which time we've seen her fall out with, well, pretty much everyone. It's thought she'll leave at the end of the current series.
But will Lauren and Chloe Sims manage to salavage their friendship before Popey pops off into the Brentwood sunset?
We live in hope.