Lauren Goodger likens her break-up from Mark Wright to Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt’s split

Lauren Goodger has likened her 2012 split from her ex-fiancé Mark Wright to A-listers Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt’s 2005 divorce. 

The childhood sweethearts became engaged on TOWIE, after both starring since its inauguration in 2010, and were a couple for 11 years before suffering an extremely acrimonious break-up which has led to much mud-slinging.

Discussing the public interest surrounding their relationship, Lauren told Closer that ‘people will always be interested’ due to their place in the spotlight, while she also revealed she is hoping to date a doctor or policeman. 

Lauren and Mark’s very public split has sparked many headlines over the years, which he has hit out at due to his marriage to Michelle Keegan.

She said of her relationship, TOWIE and subsequent split: ‘The whole show was about my love life and girls could relate to me. I was hurt, I was in love, and engaged. That relationship lasted 12 years, ten years prior to TOWIE, and two years during it…

‘It was a genuine relationship – there was so much that happened off camera. It wasn’t all bad, but obviously we were making a TV show…

‘It’s annoying getting dragged into my ex’s life, but I understand it’s a massive part of where we started, and people will always be interested. It’s like other people in the public eye, like Brad and Jennifer. I get it, but it goes over my head now.’

Following a number of highly-publicised relationships, including a romance from behind bars with Joey Morrison and an on-off union with Jake McLean, Lauren admitted she is ready for new love – with a man in uniform. 

She said: ‘I’d love a man in a uniform, like a doctor or a policeman. Those types of men are heroes.’ 

Mark and Lauren were arguably TOWIE’s original golden couple, with the first seasons of the structured reality show charting their turbulent on/off relationship peppered with his flings with Sam Faiers and Lucy Mecklenburgh.

In the very first episode, Lauren was seen getting a spray tan in Amy Childs’ in-house beauty salon while sporting just her underwear leading to the beautician spying Lauren’s inking on her bikini line – displaying her childhood flame’s name.

While Amy marvelled at the inking, Lauren revealed Mark had encouraged her to get the tattoo although in the next episode the hunk was seen watching the show back and proclaimed she ‘looked about 20 stone’ – much to her devastation.

Later in the episode, during her birthday festivities at Sugar Hut, Mark was seen talking to Sam at the bar while Lauren partied with her pals and once she had spotted the chat, Lauren went on to brand the duo a ‘pair of c**ts’.

In the following series, she was seen to have the tattoo removed in a bold statement however just hours after departing the laser salon, Mark interrupted her drinks with her sister Nicola to pop the question in a pub car park – to which she said yes.

Ultimately it ended in tears, with their engagement being called off for good in 2012, following a host of devastating twists and turns – with Sam professing her love for the hunk after the engagement and an eventual infidelity with Lucy in Marbella.