Sam has finally confirmed that she and her The Only Way is Essex sweetheart have split, saying she "needed space" from him.

The couple, who got together on the Essex-based reality show, started dating at the start of this year.

She revealed more details in her column for Star magazine, saying:

"I was mothering Joey - I just need space from him.

"HeÂ’s gorgeous but we spent so much time together so quickly that the spark went out just as fast."