The Only Way Is Essex stars Chloe Lewis and Dan Edgar have officially confirmed their relationship by sharing photos from a holiday in Marbella.
Lewis, 35, made their romance Instagram official on Friday night, posting pictures from their stay at the five-star Hotel El Fuerte in the Spanish resort, where rates are around £357 per night.
The couple first found love last June while attending the second wedding of fellow reality television personalities Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallett in Mallorca.
In one elevator photo, Lewis wore a skintight white top and satin skirt as she cosied up to Edgar, 36. Another photograph showed the reality star displaying her toned physique in a red gingham bikini while soaking up the sun.
A separate post showed a shirtless Edgar moving a parasol to find a spot of shade, with Lewis labelling him the "umbrella man" in her caption.
First public sightings and Essex background
Although Lewis and Edgar have known each other for many years through The Only Way Is Essex and the wider Essex social scene, they had previously remained quiet about their relationship. They were pictured together in public for the first time last month during an evening out at the Tonic Terrace at the Hilton Bournemouth.
Employees at the venue posted photographs of the couple on the Tonic Terrace Instagram account, writing: "Amazing to have @chloelewis91 & @danedgar pop in and see us on Saturday night. Hope you enjoyed your cocktails and come back and see us soon!" During the outing, Lewis wore a white bustier with jeans alongside Edgar.
Lewis appeared on the ITV reality series from 2015 to 2019 after joining the show alongside her childhood sweetheart Jake Hall. The pair maintained an on-and-off relationship throughout her time on the programme. Hall died in May at age 35 after falling through a glass door while on holiday in Mallorca, with Lewis subsequently speaking candidly about her heartbreak over his death.
Lewis is also a mother to her six-year-old son, Beau, from her previous relationship with Danny Fisher.
Cast relationships and filming in Vietnam
Edgar, who has completed 11 years as a cast member on The Only Way Is Essex, has previously had several high-profile relationships on the show. His early screen romance began with his teenage sweetheart Kate Ferdinand, then known as Kate Wright.
He later dated Amber Turner, who cheated on her boyfriend Jamie Reed with Edgar, before he moved on to date fellow cast member Ella Rae Wise. Following the end of his relationship with Wise, Edgar began dating Lewis.
Before the romance was confirmed publicly, sources disclosed: "Dan has always fancied Chloe, he thinks she's beautiful and is desperate to settle down. He'd told friends that he wanted the next girl he dates to be The One."
While filming the reality series in Vietnam, Edgar was required to work alongside his former partner Wise. Discussing the experience, Edgar said: "The stuff with Ella is a lot more recent, so naturally, it's not ideal being away with your ex..."
He added: "It came to light that she was still quite upset about a lot of stuff. It's not nice, I don't like seeing anyone upset. It was a tough situation to be in..."
Edgar continued: "I'm with someone else now and to be out there and see someone else upset and still trying to manage a friendship. It was all new ground to try and navigate. It's obviously never easy, but we've been trying to manage it the best we can."
Reactions and comments from co-stars
Speaking in April while promoting the show, Edgar addressed keeping his personal life separate from filming. "She's very understanding and very grown up as a person anyway. She's done the show before and she's understanding of how it all works..." he said. "I'm happy with how it is at the moment and it being separate. I'm in a good place with it all. Things are going well at the moment."
Wise also addressed the dynamic during an interview with show narrator Denise Van Outen on the TOWIE podcast You Alright, Hun?. "I think it's really hard to be around your ex anyway. We all know that I don't have loads of friends on TOWIE don't we? So he's a bit of my familiarity," Wise said.
Wise added: "Sometimes we are just drawn to each other naturally. And it's not because we want to be disrespectful to the person that he's with or for people around us, it just happens."
