It’s crazy to think that Samantha Faiers was once better known for her lads’ mag appearances and nights out at the Sugar Hut. These days, she’s the ultimate yummy mummy, who can command six-figure sums to promote nappies, baby buggies and high-street children’s clothes. And it’s all thanks to The Mummy Diaries – the show that totally reinvented her image.
But it’s been five years since Sam started filming her mum life for the cameras and now, eight series in, we’re told she’s wondering how much longer it can go on for, with a source saying the 29-year-old is getting itchy feet.
“Sam loves doing the show and is proud of everything she achieved, but she’s questioning how much longer she’ll do it,” says an insider close to the reality star, who shares two children – Paul, four, and Rosie, two – with her partner Paul.
Check out: the OG TOWIE stars then and now
heat TOWIE stars then and now stacked
1 of 20Lauren Goodger in 2011
Lauren Goodger takes on the red carpet at Essex Fashion Week back in 2011, a year after the show launched. Stripes and fake tan for days.
2 of 20THE GLOW UP - Lauren Goodger now
Oh YASS, the glow up is real.Check out Lauren Goodger in 2018. We don't know what magical moisturiser she is using but we are well jel - she looks younger. She briefly returned to TOWIE and has since launched her tanning brand LG Tan.
3 of 20Harry Derbidge in 2010
TOWIE's sweet heart and cousin to TOWIE royalty, Amy Childs, at the afterparty of a film premiere. Looking so young and fresh faced.
4 of 20THE GLOW UP - Harry Derbidge now
After quitting the show TWICE in 2014 (so, extra) he followed in his cousin Amy Childs' footsteps and opened his own boutique which later closed down. Now, he is a social media influencer and make-up artist and slaying the game. He has also announced his adoption plans with his fiancé Dean Rowland.
5 of 20Gemma Collins in 2011
Do you remember when she was a brunette? Yeah, no one does.
6 of 20THE GLOW UP - Gemma Collins now
"So, girls"She later ditched the bangs, the brunette hair and the excessive tan.After becoming TOWIE's most meme'ed star, she's launched her own TV show Diva Forever, dropped a podcast and she continues to be in an on/off relationship with James 'Arg' Argent.
7 of 20Amy Childs in 2010
Amy Childs in her signature red hair back in 2010 - on the red carpet for the launch of The Only Way Is Essex.
8 of 20THE GLOW UP - Amy Childs now
After being the first one to quit the show, she stormed the showbiz world with her own reality TV show, starred in Celebrity Big Brother and she is now reported to be worth over £5 million. She's also a mum to Polly and Rich.
9 of 20Mark Wright in 2011
Other than being an immediate TOWIE heartthrob / major palyer, he also used to model early on in his career.
10 of 20THE GLOW UP - Mark Wright now
Mark is now happily married to Michelle Keegan. He has his own radio show, he used to be the face of Take Me Out: The Gossip and he ventured across the pond to work with Mario Lopez on Extra.
11 of 20James 'Arg' Argent in 2011
This is what he looked like in 2011, a year after TOWIE launched.
12 of 20THE GLOW UP - James Argent now
Following his break-up from his on screen love, Lydia Bright, he took sometime off from TOWIE. He appeared on and off for a number of series but in 2020 he opened up about his cocaine addiction and eating disorder. He is now in an on/off relationship with Gemma Collins.
13 of 20Lydia Bright in 2011
Lydia opened her own boutique as soon as she joined TOWIE. She left the show after major drama with co-stars James Argent and Gemma Collins.
14 of 20THE GLOW UP - Lydia Bright now
Lydia's now mum to a little girl, Loretta.
15 of 20Sam Faiers in 2010
Quintessential Essex glamour is the best way to describe this picture but she definitely wins the best glow up...
16 of 20THE GLOW UP - Sam Faiers now
She 100% glowed up the most. Her life changed drastically since she first appeared on TOWIE. After leaving the show, she became a mother to Paul and Rosie. She followed Amy Childs' footsteps and joined Celebrity Big Brother and she has her own show The Mummy Diaries. You go girl.
17 of 20Kirk Norcross in 2010
He is a TOWIE original. He left the show three years after first appearing on our TV screens.
18 of 20THE GLOW UP - Kirk Norcross now
Not much has changed, except he is a dad to two children now.
19 of 20Maria Fowler in 2011
She had a very short time on TOWIE after she was dubbed "just a f***ing extra" by Kirk - harsh, right?
20 of 20THE GLOW UP - Maria Fowler now
We use the term 'now" very loosely with Maria, this picture is from early 2017 - that's because we can't find any recent pics as she is keeping it on the down low. We do know that is she is a makeup artist now, she's married to Kelvin Batey and they're expecting their second child later this year.
“She started when she was pregnant with little Paul and so much has changed since then. She’s branched out with her businesses and has so much on her plate, so she doesn’t always have time for filming. It’s not like she needs the show any more, but she feels loyal towards it.”
As well as fronting a range of child-oriented products, Sam’s also flexed her star power over the last year by signing massive deals with Quiz clothing, Next and Oreo. But filming The Mummy Diaries is a big commitment, and even though she shares the screen with her sister Billie, 30, and her family, we’re told she’s starting to feel frustrated. And now that she and Paul are living in a rental home in Surrey and are planning to buy a property there as soon as possible, she’s feeling distanced from her former Essex life.
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Last month, Sam hinted that she was looking forward to taking her family life off air in the future, after saying she doubted that she’d film her and Paul’s future wedding for a reality show. She said, “Paul is quite private, so I wouldn’t want to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.” And, although we’re told she’s not calling it quits in the immediate future, her eye is definitely on the finishing line.
“Sam knows she’s made some great decisions about her TV career in the past, like when she left TOWIE before the other original stars,” says the source. “She’s had a lot of good business opportunities as a result. But she does love working on the show, as she gets to spend time with her family. She’s having lots of fun right now, but things change quickly, so who knows what will happen?”
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