Rita Ora parties with Joey Essex and into the early hours at impromptu TINGS afterparty

Rita Ora partied into the early hours with Joey Essex and a host of celebrity friends following the TINGS magazine party, on Thursday night. 

The singer, 29, was joined by the TOWIE star, 29, at her property in London quite late in the evening for the star-studded afterparty. 

The pair met through Rita’s friend Vas J Morgan, 31, the owner of TINGS, who used to appear on TOWIE with Joey. 

In social media pictures shared to Vas’ Instagram stories, Joey – who is in a relationship with Mexican model Lorena Medina, 27 – could be seen sticking his tongue out playfully while posing with his pal.   

Earlier in the evening, Rita had been pictured supporting her BFF Vas J Morgan TINGS Magazine X Topman dinner at the Laylow Members Club. 

As well as a special night for Vas, it was also his business partner Justin Campbell’s birthday party, so when the event at Laylow came to a close earlier than hoped for, the celebs looked for another venue to continue their evening of partying.

Rita was kind enough to host the impromptu afterparty, inviting the likes of Brookyln Beckham, Liam Payne and Emma Weymouth to party at her London pad late into the night.  

Rita looked every inch the fashionista as she teased a hint of her toned abs in a knitted purple tartan vest, which she teamed with low-sling black chinos. 

Shrugging a zebra print leather jacket over her shoulders, Rita layered a collection of gold and silver necklaces atop of the plaid top, which featured green striped design underneath the bust. 

The Anywhere hitmaker opted for comfort on her feet with black loafers and white socks and amped up the glamour with sparkly silver earrings. 

Rita styled her blonde locks into a 70s inspired bouffant and finished off her party look with bright blue eye-shadow. 

Joey is thought to have been dating model Lorena for nearly a year, after they were first pictured putting on a cosy display in May 2019. 

They are believed to have first got together while filming MTV’s Ex On The Beach, but confirmed their relationship in October as they shared a romantic kiss during a dinner date at Chigwell’s Sheesh Restaurant. 

In a recent interview on Loose Women, the hunk labelled the beauty ‘reem’ and confessed that things were ‘going good’ despite their long-distance romance.  

He enthused: ‘It’s early days still. We met about two months ago and it’s all going good. We met in Spain.

‘She’s actually from Mexico but she lives in LA. It’s long distance. She flies back (to the UK) and I go there sometimes.’ 

Rita’s late night afterparty comes after reports that she and Rafferty Law, 23, have recently drifted apart.  

They began dating in December while working together on the Oliver Twist remake Twist, later going public at the British Fashion Awards. 

A source told The Sun: ‘They grew close while they were both working in London, although they were just taking each day as it came and weren’t in a rush to label anything or move too quickly.

‘But Rita has spent so long out of the country now and they’re not talking as much as they were, let alone doing the things couples do when they’re together.’

The insider added: ‘Things are on ice until they’re back in the same country. They might pick up again then, but at the moment they are more like friends.’