Former Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan is expecting her first child with her TV presenter husband. Since the couple first got together 12 years ago, his ex Lauren Goodger has had a lot to say

Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan have left fans overjoyed with their pregnancy news, but it’s proved to be a painful announcement for Lauren Goodger.

The couple got together in December 2012 and have been married for nine years, in which time they’ve been focussing on their own careers as well as building their dream mansion in Essex.

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright previously dated his castmate Lauren for 12 years until early 2012 and she was heartbroken when they split for good.

Lauren, 38, has since spoken extensively about her ex, telling dating expert Paul C Brunson on his We Need to Talk podcast that Mark was the ‘love of my life’, saying she ‘never ever thought I was going to love anyone else’ and had been left ‘broken’ when they finally went their separate ways.

Now Mark, 37, and Michelle, 38, have shared their happy baby news in a touching beach snap, with the caption reading ‘2025 is going to be a special one for us… [baby emoji. love heart emoji]’. And while the couple have mostly kept quiet about Mark’s outspoken ex, Michelle once made a very scathing comment about her…

Mark and Lauren dated on and off for 12 years and appeared on ITV reality show Towie together ( 
Image:
UK Press via Getty Images)

After they split for good, the presenter met his future wife Michelle ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
Before the star began dating Mark, it seems she was a Towie fan. She wrote in her Love It! Magazine column: “I love TOWIE! It’s one of those shows you don’t want to watch but just can’t help turning on. I don’t know how Lauren can take Mark back so easily, though – it’s so cringe! I wouldn’t be able to get back with someone who’d slept with lots of girls I knew, but that’s just me.”

While Michelle’s comments predated her relationship with Mark, in 2014 Lauren responded to an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on social media where she stated she made the ‘Wright choice over Mark’. The presenter wasn’t best pleased, tweeting his ex: “It’s been well over 2 years and it still continues.

“I find it so disrespectful to myself but more importantly, my fiancée. Be a proper woman. Please leave me out of your public conversations, stop embarrassing yourself. Start having some respect and MOVE ON.”

Lauren’s more recent interview with dating expert Paul Brunson saw her explain why she had been hung up on Mark for so long. “I was with him for 12 years on and off,” said the reality TV star.

Mark and Michelle have been married for nearly ten years, with a baby on the way ( 
Image:
Michelle Keegan/Instagram)

The couple kept their pregnancy news secret for months ( 
Image:
LightRocket via Getty Images)
“It wasn’t a smooth sailing relationship. We broke up a few months here, got back together, but we grew up together. We grew up. We wouldn’t have stayed together for that long if he didn’t have this mutual feeling for me.”

An insider told OK! Magazine her comments hadn’t gone down well with her ex or his new wife. “It’s not that Michelle can’t sympathise with Lauren or is cross with her,” they said. “She doesn’t know her at all but she doesn’t like what she reads when Lauren talks about her.

“Mark also gets annoyed and he’s very protective of his wife and family. He doesn’t like them being brought up by Lauren, especially as it was so long ago. It’s ancient history for him.”

Lauren is thought to be single with a daughter Larose, three. Her second daughter Lorena was born in July 2022 but tragically, she passed away minutes later.