The Only Way Is Essex's Lauren Goodger is a doting mother to her three-year-old daughter Larose, and one only has to see her social media feed to confirm that the little one is her priority. However, life isn't all rosy for the reality star, who made a triumphant return to the ITVBe reality show this year after a nine-year hiatus. As a single mum and TV personality, she admits that she doesn't earn as much as she used to.
In a recent interview, she confessed to financial struggles and living a 'basic' life, a far cry from her TOWIE days when she could command £25,000 for a magazine shoot. Her current financial status is what led to her controversial decision to join the adults-only website OnlyFans, a platform also used by celebrities like Kerry Katona and former Love Islander Megan Barton-Hanson. In a candid admission, she said, "I don't want to have to do OnlyFans', but added that she had to rely on it because money in the industry "isn't what it was".
She earns her keep by posting lingerie-clad snaps of herself for a £38 monthly membership fee, reports OK!. However, a source now reveals that Lauren, 38, doesn't 'enjoy' being on the site - and is only doing it to secure a better future for her daughter, who she shares with her ex Charles Drury.
"Lauren doesn't want to do OnlyFans and that's not a secret, but she has to do things she doesn't want to do because she's a mum and she'd do anything for her daughter", the source claimed. "It's a sacrifice she has had to make and it's not something she enjoys."
Reflecting on her reality TV fame, Lauren recently admitted: "I probably earned the most, but lost a hell of a lot. And that has humbled me, 100%." In a candid chat with Paul C Brunson on his new podcast We Need To Talk, Lauren opened up about various issues, including her financial struggles. She said: "I'm still carrying on, but how long am I going to carry on for? How do I get through it? Because I have no choice."
Naturally, as a public figure earning from a website like OnlyFans, Lauren also has to deal with the inevitable mixed public opinion. "Lauren has also had her fair share of backlash and abuse to contend with over her OnlyFans and she finds it difficult to deal with", the source claims, though as she has said before, she deals with them stoically, saying, "I don't actually care. I've been through so much more worse."
The source continued: "She also knows that the alternative is not making money and not providing for her child. She thinks people should actually be praising her for making it work and being a providing mother, rather than sending her abuse. Lauren's a single mum and there's no one supporting her, so at the end of the day, she has to put food on the table for her daughter. That's the main thing".
Lauren, who tragically lost her daughter Lorena just after her birth in 2022, shortly after her former partner Jake McLean died in a horror car smash in Turkey, is understandably still navigating through immense grief. Opening up about recently about her coping mechanisms, she shared: "The reason I got through it all is because of Larose. She has kept me going and without her I probably wouldn't be here."
However, she also admitted that she can feel lonely and isolated at times, saying it sometimes feels like "everyone vanished" after her tragedies two years ago. "As time's gone on, after what I went through losing Lorena, people think, 'Oh, it's been two years now, she's alright'," she said. "But it's actually worse because you become lonelier. I've never experienced loneliness like it in my life."
