Ricky Rayment has quit TOWIE after three years, saying he’s looking forward to “exciting times ahead”.
The 25-year-old took to Twitter this morning to break the news, and there’s already been speculation that it could do with his relationship with Geordie Shore’s Marnie Simpson.
He tweeted:
In response to one follower saying it was rubbish news, Ricky said: “I know aye #thetimehadcome.”
One show insider told the Mirror that Ricky felt it was time to leave as it was getting awkward filming with his ex, Jessica Wright.
“The storylines weren’t moving forward. Plus his new romance with Marnie is a bone of contention as there was no way bosses would bring a character in from Geordie Shore,” the source revealed.
Marnie has, in the past, sworn she’d never appear on TOWIE because she “couldn’t handle the Essex lot”.
But there is talk of the two of them having their own spin-off show, with a second insider telling the newspaper that that’s one option.
“Ricky has a huge following from TOWIE and isn’t ready to step out of the spotlight just yet. He’s mulling over his options right now.”
In her Closer magazine column recently, Marnie hinted that the couple are getting serious – she even said she knew “that I am going to be with my Essex boy forever. It just feels right – and his parents would make the nicest grandparents!”.
Hmm!