James Lock and Yazmin Oukhellou have made a surprise return to ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ after leaving to work on their relationship.
The loved-up couple – who left last year to focus on their work at a new wellness retreat in Morocco – stunned their co-stars when they made their shock comeback at the series launch party this week, and said their romance is stronger than ever.
James told The Sun Online: "We’ve had some happy receptions and others haven’t been as happy to see us. Some people have bad weeks, bad months, bad years and for us we had a bad year.
"But it hasn’t broken us and we’ve moved on from it. It’s made us stronger and more positive."
Yaz added that they kept their return a secret from the rest of the cast until the moment they arrived at the event.
She said: "Everyone thought we’d been axed, but we’re back. We wanted to surprise everyone in the cast, so they had no idea we were coming back until we arrived here."
And while they’re ready to throw themselves back into the ITVBe show, the couple won’t be getting involved in too much of the drama after getting a fresh outlook during their time away.
Yaz explained: "I’m not interested in having fights or dramas with anyone anymore, it’s so immature now. We’ve set up our own wellness retreat and I’ve got healthy and positive vibes to put into that.
"I haven’t got time to be wasting my energy with silly arguments. If anyone wants to create those dramas needs to get a job."
The couple left ‘TOWIE’ during filming for the previous series, and it was reported at the time they were planning a return for 2019.
A source previously said: "James and Yaz have taken a break from the show but are both set to return in the New Year.
"They have struggled with their relationship this series but love and care for each other so want to do whatever it takes to get back on track.
"Time away from the cameras hasn’t come at a better time for Yazmin who is in the process of setting up a fitness boot camp that she hopes will refocus her mind.
"She’s in demand at the moment after overcoming her recent issues and has been offered numerous other TV shows."
James Lock and Yazmin Oukhellou made surprise TOWIE return
