Tragedies of TOWIE cast – drug addiction, ‘freak’ surgery and star left suicidal

For many an Essex unknown, TOWIE brought them fame and riches beyond their wildest dreams.

The ITVBe show turned normal people into overnight stars and has been keeping the country entertained with tales of Marbs, vajazzles and cat fights for 10 years now.

But while most cast mates have gone on to achieve massive success, such as Sam and Billie Faiers with the Mummy Diaries and Mark Wright, who hosted US entertaiment show EXTRA, the decade since the show launched sadly hasn't been so kind to everyone...

Lauren quit the show in 2012 following a fiery split from Mark Wright, which culminated in her pushing him into a swimming pool.

She was reportedly devastated when Mark fell in love with Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan later that year, and even more heartbroken when they got hitched in 2015, with friends claiming Lauren always thought teenage sweetheart Mark was The One.

Since then, the 33 year old has tried to find lasting love with jailbird Joey Morrison and ex Jake McLean, and has completely altered her appearance, getting a nose job, boob job, botox, liposuction, lip fillers and a reported £10,000 butt lift.

And friends fear Lauren - who sells saucy images on x-rated website, Only Fans - has developed a surgery obsession triggered by Mark's past comments about her weight.

"Lauren's surgery has always been about her insecurities," a source told Closer magazine.

"Lauren has admitted her surgery obsession was sparked by Mark. She's always held a candle for him and it's clear she'll always love him deep down.

"She won't stop until she finds her dream guy and is convinced the more surgery she has, the better chance she has. But friends just want her to feel secure enough to be herself."

The GC has made an absolute mint from the show, amassing an estimated net worth of £3million through book deals, clothing lines, fragrances and her Diva Forever spin-off show.

But while her career has been soaring, Gemma has faced some tough times behind the scenes.

In 2012 she suffered a terrifying miscarriage and watched her four month-old baby die in front of her before putting on a brave face at the NTA Awards.

"I’ve had some shocking things happen to me, I’m not sure I’ve spoken about this before," she recently said on her BBC podcast.

"But I actually gave birth to a child, sadly, and basically the child was four months old. Basically, I had a miscarriage but obviously the baby was formed and it died in front of me.

"I’ll never forget it, it was a very traumatising experience because I didn’t know I was pregnant and literally I remember waking up with severe pains and my mum said to me, ‘Gemma you need to go to the toilet,’ and I was like, ‘Honey, this is not…’ I mean obviously I couldn’t describe…"

Arg was Mark's mostly well-meaning sidekick who put girlfriend Lydia Bright through the ringer before moving on with Gemma Collins.

But away from the cameras, Arg was secretly fighting his own demons.

He struggled with drug abuse and checked into the Priory in 2014.

He also visited a Thai rehab facility four years later for his 'mental and physical wellbeing' and in 2018 he took time out from TOWIE to attend a facility in London as an outpatient.

In May this year he admitted he'd been addicted to cocaine and suffered two terrifying overdoses, with Gemma calling the ambulance both times.

“I locked myself in my house and took drugs for three days straight on my own in the pitch black," he told The Sun.

“I was at rock bottom. My heart was beating out of my chest, my nose was bleeding, I was shaking and my breathing was terrible.

"My family were banging on the door screaming, ‘Open up’ but I wasn’t answering the door to anyone. They feared I’d overdosed and was dead in the house."

The Sugar Hut staffer walked away at the end of three series after fame left him with severe anxiety and depression.

At one point, his mental health was so low that he almost tried to take his own life.

"Reality TV turned me into a monster," he told the Sun on Sunday in 2019, alleging that bosses provided 'zero aftercare'.

"I’d cry on set and say, ‘Please don’t make me do these things’, but I always had to," he continued.

“I’ve thought about killing myself so many times because of what those shows did to me.

“Last year I came seconds away but I thought of my son’s face. He saved my life."

In response, ITV said: “The welfare of everyone involved in the making of our programmes is of paramount importance to us and appropriate psych support is available to all cast throughout their time with us and beyond.”

Kirk, who is dad to daughter Violett and son Harry, turned his back on fame to 'earn a living through hard work' as a manual laborour.

He now runs KN Jet Services in Essex and turned down an invitation to return to the show because 'that life is behind him'.

A former Miss Essex, Ferne quit the show in 2016 and was delighted to find out she and boyfriend Arthur Collins were expecting their first baby the following year.

But her world blew up when he was arrested just days later for a nightclub acid attack which injured 14 people and sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Ferne, 30, ended their relationship immediately and vowed to raise their daughter Sunday, now two, as a single mum.

But the pressure was too much and she broke down sobbing in front of the cameras for her solo show, First Time Mum.

And her anger and frustration remains to this day, with Ferne recently lashing out at Collins for ruining her pregnancy and depriving her daughter of a full-time dad.

Ferne said: “My first experience of a pregnancy, and everything you think an ideal pregnancy would be, was robbed from me.”

Speaking on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Ferne Ferne admitted she sometimes feels jealous of other mums who still had their partners to help.

She added: “I’ve had many nights where I’ve been so upset and very emotional but you get through it.”

When Megan quit the show in 2017, she set off to the US in the hopes of launching herself as a country singer.

But she was struck down by a debilitating condition that caused dramatic weight loss and symptoms so severe that she couldn't leave the house.

She was forced to rethink every aspect of her lifestyle after being diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which at its worst left her unable to eat, drink or even get dressed.

And she hit back at cruel trolls who branded her 'skeletal' weight and 'anorexic', admitting the condition had 'taken over my life'.

"I didn't know what it was and people were really criticising me, saying you look anorexic, you look skeletal, it's disgusting," she told the Daily Mail of her 'vile' online attackers.

The condition typically sees sufferers fluctuate between bouts of bloating, following by a desperate urge to use the toilet, and for Megan, the first painful stage often leaves her looking 'two months pregnant'.

"I can go from that extreme, to having a really bad belly and losing weight - because if you can't keep [food] down, how are you going to keep it on?" she said.

The condition first struck during her tumultuous on-off relationship with co-star Pete Wicks, before she was finally diagnosed in October 2017 after filming There's Something About Megan in Nashville, Tennesse.

Mum-of-two Amy had her first boob job at 18 and quickly became hooked on cosmetic procedures.

It was only when her mum told her she looked like a 'freak' that the mother-of-two realised she needed help.

"I regret it because I got addicted and I thought I looked well," Amy, 30, said during a recent appearance on This Morning.

"I looked in the mirror and it was only when my mum and dad said to me 'You look like a freak Amy' [that it clicked] and I cried."

Revealing her mum had always been against surgery, Amy explained that she had wanted to have her boobs done since she was 12 or 13.

"I got teased at school, I had people saying to me, 'You've got small boobs,'" she said. "I look back now and it's really sad."

Amy had a second boob job when she was 23 and at 25 her left implant came away from her body, resulting in her being hospitalised for two weeks.