Lauren sheds tears over Mark

TOWIE star Lauren Goodger sparks debate after speaking out about her past relationships on a podcast, to the dismay of Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan

- Mitya Underwood

Lauren Goodger sparked a flurry of online criticism when she referred to her ex Mark Wright as "the love of my life" in I a recent interview. The TOWIE star, 37, broke down discussing her past relationships with dating guru Paul C Brunson on his We Need To Talk podcast, telling him how aspects of their split 12 years ago "broke" her.

Lauren got emotional as she discussed Mark's promise to build her a house, which he's since done with wife Michelle Keegan, and how she felt in the wake of the break-up.

"I never ever thought I was going to love anyone else," she said. "I was with him for 12 years, on and off. It wasn't a smooth sailing relationship. We broke up a few months, got back together, but we grew up together.

"He was the love of my life. We wouldn't have stayed together for that long if he didn't have that mutual feeling for me."

Given more than a decade has passed since the pair split, and Mark, 37, has been married to Fool Me Once star Michelle since 2015, her intimate interview didn't go down well with everyone online.

"He has a stunning wife and a career. Should she not just stop talking about him?" one person commented. While another added, "This woman really needs to leave it. He's been married for nine years. Have some respect for yourself and them and stop talking about him." A third said, "I feel bad for her, she needs to leave him alone. There's no reason they would need to talk to each other."

A source has told us Mark and Michelle were not thrilled by Lauren's comments either.

"It's not that Michelle can't sympathise with Lauren or is cross with her, she doesn't know her at all, but she doesn't like what she reads when Lauren talks about her," they claimed.