James Argent shared a sweet clip Wednesday of himself singing with his ex Lydia Bright’s two-year-old daughter Loretta as he visited her family’s home to meet.
The former TOWIE star, 34, looked happy and relaxed as he belted out a tune with the little one – who Lydia, 30, shares with ex Lee Cronin – while they ate ice cream together.
However, Lydia wrote in her caption that she doesn’t often write about her friendship with ex Arg — who she had a tumultuous on-of relationship with while he was battling a drug addiction — as “people don’t get it.”
Sweet: James Argent shared a sweet clip on Wednesday of him singing with his ex Lydia Bright’s two-year-old daughter Loretta as he visited her family’s home to meet up
In the clip, Arg was sweetly in love with Loretta as they relaxed together in the garden, with the toddler sporting cute fairy wings and a white sundress.
Lydia wrote in the caption: “Look who stopped by for ice cream and a duet tonight @real_arg.
“I rarely post our friendship because people don’t always get it, but this was too cute not to post.”
Tough: However, Lydia wrote in her caption that she doesn’t often post about her friendship with ex-Arg because “people don’t get it” (pictured with Loretta last summer)
Arg then re-shared the post on his own Instagram story along with a series of red love hearts.
Lydia and Arg split in 2016 after a turbulent seven-year relationship when Lydia reportedly came home to find recovering drug addict James “off the hook.”
Earlier this year James revealed he is struggling to find love after his dramatic 13 stone weight loss but will not reconcile with ex-girlfriends Lydia or Gemma Collins.
Fun: The former TOWIE star, 34, looked happy and relaxed as he belted out a tune with the little one – who Lydia, 30, shares with ex Lee Cronin – as they ate ice cream together
Speaking to The Mirror about his relationship with his TOWIE star, Arg said it’s “frustrating” that girls don’t approach him because they think he and Lydia have reignited their romance, adding that they’ve decided to stay close friends.
Lydia has been single since her relationship with Lee Cronin, father of her daughter Loretta, ended.
Arg explained: “We want to be in each other’s lives forever. She is one of my closest friends. We care and respect each other, but we think staying anything but friends would jeopardize that.
Adorable: In the clip, Arg was sweetly in love with Loretta as they chilled together in the garden, with the toddler sporting cute fairy wings and a white sundress
“I want to be able to see Lydia when I’m not having a good day as she’s someone I turn to for help, but we can’t do that at the moment because we’re being photographed and everyone’s like, ‘That’s them back together .”
“I have girls who think, ‘Aren’t you dating Lydia,’ so they don’t bother with me. It’s frustrating.’
Arg added that he feels he can turn to Lydia with his troubles, but can also confide in her mum – who sends him inspirational quotes in the mornings to help him with his recovery.
In July 2021, James was “inseparable” from Lydia as they both attended his sister Natasha’s wedding and posed for photos alongside 21-month-old Loretta.
James and Lydia became friends again earlier this year after not speaking while the singer dated Diva Forever star Gemma and battled several demons in his personal life.
For the past seven years, James has battled cocaine addiction after finding fame and fortune on ITVBe show TOWIE.
James spent 10 weeks in a Thai rehab clinic in 2020 after suffering two near-fatal drug overdoses and has spoken publicly about his addiction.
Complicated: Lydia and Arg split in 2016 after a turbulent seven-year relationship, when Lydia reportedly came home to find recovering drug addict James “out of it” (pictured in 2016)
Last year he said: “I’m in my thirties now and have fully accepted that my life had become completely unmanageable due to A) drugs and B) my eating disorder.
“I feel like from a young age I always struggled with my body image, how I looked, and I used my personality … by being the smiling, happy person for the show — it was almost like I would.” I wear a mask.’
Discussing his relationship with Lydia, he added: “When I first arrived at TOWIE it was a shock to me, I’ve only had one girlfriend in my entire life and that was Lydia.
“I went from job to job trying to make it as a wedding singer and all of a sudden I started making good money, I got a lot of attention from women in nightclubs and when Lydia broke up with me it was a shock. and I struggled to deal with it.
“The pain I was in from the heartbreak, I started using drugs heavily to get away from the feelings and the bad, and I struggled with insecurities about how I looked on TV. I ate and ate to console myself. I figured getting Lydia back would solve all my problems.”
Exes: The former couple was on and off while they starred on TOWIE together – but their relationship ended when James was engulfed by the traps of fame (pictured in 2011)