Lauren Goodger’s friends have slammed her ex Mark Wright and ITV for comments previously shared on The Only Way Is Essex, labelling Lauren as an ’emotional punch bag’

Mark and Lauren were together on and off for 12 years(Image: Getty Images)

Friends of Lauren Goodger have hit out at ITV and Mark Wright for his hurtful comments. The duo were an item for over a decade, with their relationship playing out in front of the cameras on The Only Way Is Essex.

However, it’s remarks made by Mark, who is now married to Michelle Keegan, that continue to rile Lauren’s pals. In scenes first aired back in 2010, Mark and his friend James ‘Arg’ Argent were filmed sitting on the sofa alongside Mark’s sister, Jess. They sat watching a clip of his then on-off partner Lauren getting a spray tan, wearing only underwear in the shot.

Mark told the pair: “She looks f****** 19 stone, the div,” with his words nearly causing the pair to burst into laughter. It was just one of a number of jibes throughout the rocky relationship that was aired on the hit reality TV series.

Lauren’s friends have criticised ITV for airing the scenes(Image: ITV)

However, 15 years on, friends of Lauren are still unhappy with how things panned out on screen. ” “It is unbelievable that that was allowed to ever be screened, a fried told Mail Online. “You have to remember the impact these kind of things can have on someone.”

They added: “Some of the things Mark said to Lauren were absolutely vile, they were awful and cruel. Lauren was nowhere near 19 stone. It all feels so misogynistic. Mark was the popular lad who had girls throwing themselves at him.”

And the pal also hit out at other scenes which aired years later, labelling Lauren an “emotional punch bag”. They added: “ITV would say some of it was scripted but it was all based upon what was going on in real life – and so often it was cruel.”

Lauren previously admitted her separation from Mark 12 years ago “broke” her and left her feeling like she was “never going to love anyone else”.

The TOWIE stars dated for 11 years and were childhood sweethearts, first embarking on a relationship together aged 15.

In 2011 they got engaged on the reality TV show, but their engagement only lasted five months. Their very public breakup was documented on the series before Mark went on to marry actress Michelle in 2015.

The duo recently welcomed their daughter, Palma. Mark and Michelle regularly share updates on social media regarding their tot.

Mark recently said of the youngster: “She’s absolutely amazing, she’s so good, she’s only five weeks old. We get to 11pm and she won’t wake up til 5.” He also revealed that Ed Sheeran offered him advice, admitting: “It gets easier.”

Lauren, who is mum to three-year-old daughter Larose, recently said she really wants to expand her family and is looking into fostering or adopting.

Speaking to the Mirror in December last year, Lauren said: “I’m still young, I still can have my own baby, but I’m not with anyone and time is going on. I feel like it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to do and I’ve got the space.”