James Argent – known to TOWIE fans as ‘Arg’ – recently split from his much younger girlfriend.
And it’s fair to say the star has found his love life frequently in the headlines in the years since his reality TV debut in 2010.
So, with Arg taking part in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip this weekend, ED! takes a look inside his high-profile relationships…
James Argent’s love life
Arg’s love life has been on-off, on-off on more than one occasion.
However, he is believed to have been in relationships with fellow TOWIE cast members Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins at least a couple of times each.
As bewildering as it may be to attempt to keep track of claims relating to Arg’s love life – it was even claimed at one point on the show he’d slept with both of his co-stars, separately, within 24 hours – some of the stories have stuck in the memory more than others.
They include the suggestions Arg cheated on Lydia, and fat-shamed Gemma, as well as his reeling over the end of his time with Stella Turian, reportedly 15 years younger than him.
James Argent: ‘Cheating on girlfriend Lydia’
According to reports, Arg and Lydia dated on and off as early as 2007. However, TOWIE started in 2010, and various timelines have them breaking up in 2012 before getting back together in 2015. But other claims suggest they may have been together for five years until 2016.
She was reported to have reflected in 2019: “Arg made me cry all the time with his cheating.
“I was always crying on TOWIE. That isn’t my character. I’m such a positive person, but I had to address it as part of the show. Every emotion is heightened with cameras on you.”
Lydia went on at the time: “Now that I’m 28, I wouldn’t stand for that. It’s hard to break away from someone when you’re around them. People would say: ‘What the hell are you doing taking him back?’ But you see them every day for months.
“It’s 10-hour days sometimes. You think, what’s the point of fighting it?
“Arg is a nice person but he’s like a child. He was my first love, my first serious boyfriend. When you’re cheated on by someone, you’re so angry – but equally, they’re the only person who can comfort you. It’s like rejection.”
‘Fat-shaming Gemma’
Similarly, start and end dates for when Arg and Gemma may have been together are hard to pin down.
But in early 2019 it was reported she ‘dumped’ him after he suggested she had “more rolls than Greggs”.
A month later Arg reportedly said he was “ashamed” over sending her insulting messages,. He also apparently insisted he loved her with “all his heart”.
He said to OK!: “They were sent in the heat of the moment. We were having a huge row because she was angry with me for posting the video of her snoring on social media. She’d kicked me out of her flat and things got nasty between us.”
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‘Heartbreak’
Arg and Italian law student Stella Turian were said to have dated between 2022 and late 2023. She is believed to have been 19 when they split, leaving him “heartbroken”.
However, having a long-distance relationship was said to be difficult because Arg, 36, performs at weddings both in the UK and Marbella.
A source claimed: “There are no hard feelings between them, they still follow each other on Instagram, and James is even invited to come out to ski with Stella and her family early next year.
“They made lasting memories, travelling around the most romantic parts of Italy together and Stella visited London for the first time to see James, but for now they have mutually agreed that their relationship is over.”
Watch Arg on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip on BBC Two, Saturday February 24, at 6.30pm.
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