Sam Faiers may no longer be calling Essex her home. The former TOWIE star is considering a move from the UK to the US, a source has revealed to HELLO! Online.
Sam, 25, and her boyfriend Paul Knightley are said to be interested in relocating to LA with their one-year-old son, Paul Junior.
"Samantha and Paul have already booked a number of viewings and are spending a couple of weeks in LA next month as they decide whether they want to make a permanent move," the source said. "It's especially important that they find a home with a large amount of land, away from the city as they believe it would be the best environment for Paul Junior."
Sam Faiers and her family are spending a few weeks house hunting in LA next month
The news will come as a surprise to Sam's fans – and her family. She is incredibly close to her Essex group and last year when she announced that she and Paul wanted to move to Surrey, just a couple of hours away, the news was not well received by Sam's family.
Her older sister Billie Faiers and their mum Suzanne Wells were left confused when she announced her plans. Reluctantly, Billie accompanied her younger sister to viewings in Farnham – scenes that were filmed for Sam's show The Mummy Diaries.
"It's especially important that they find a home with a large amount of land," the source said
Billie was filmed saying to her mum: "Not being negative but it's so far away, she'll be isolated on her own, Paul is always out or working or whatever. I think it's a bad move if she does it. Surrey is a beautiful place, it's lovely, but you need your friends and family around you."
She later added: "I feel like, why do you not want to be around your family? Family is everything. It's nice to live in an area where you can see family all the time."
Sam and Paul celebrated their son Paul's first birthday in December
After the unsuccessful viewings, Sam said: "Billie's just like, 'no', she will tell me everything she doesn't like. Yes, Billie was a little bit of a nightmare."
But Billie remarked: "I don't think I'm being negative, I think I'm being quite honest and truthful. I hope to think my opinion matters to Samantha but the other part of me knows she has her own family now, and I suppose Paul's opinion is a lot more important than mine."