Lauren Goodger has spoken about what she describes as "unfinished business" with her former on-off boyfriend Jake McLean, who died in a car crash in Turkey in July 2022. Goodger, who dated McLean for four years after meeting in 2012, said he "is in my dreams constantly" and that his family wished they had had a child together.
McLean, 33, was killed instantly when his Mercedes plunged off a cliff in Bodrum, Turkey. An inquest into his death in 2023 revealed he died of traumatic head injuries. The coroner stated McLean was driving with nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system and had cocaine present. His girlfriend at the time, TOWIE star Yazmin Oukhellou, survived the crash.
Goodger, who is mother to a five-year-old daughter named Larose, believes McLean would have met their child if he were alive. She also shared that McLean was with Oukhellou when the accident occurred.
Goodger has a late daughter, Lorena, who died at birth four years ago, with ex-partner Charles Drury. She expressed feelings of loss and confusion after Lorena's passing, stating, "I couldn't understand how I lost my relationship and baby."
Recalling a reunion with McLean in 2015, Goodger had expressed a desire to have children with him. "I still have a few things I want to achieve in my career but I want to be a young mum so we don't want to wait too long. I can't wait to be the mum of Jake's children," she had said. Eleven years later, she echoed similar sentiments, telling OK! Magazine, "He's in my dreams constantly. We did so much together, we've got loads of memories."
She added, "He was a big part of me and I do believe [if he was around] he'd have met Larose. He should've come back to me and settled... I still speak to his mum and his sister and they said 'We wish you had a baby with him'. I do think there was some sort of future. It was unfinished business with us."
The inquest detailed that the car crash occurred on a winding road between Bodrum and Yalikavak. Debris was found scattered at the scene, with tyre tracks indicating the vehicle had gone off the road into a ravine about ten feet below.
McLean had a criminal past, including a jail sentence in 2008 for a home invasion where he conned his way into a property before a masked gang raided it. Goodger stated in 2013 that she was aware of his convictions but chose to overlook them, saying, "Jake told me about his past. I could see how much he regretted his actions. I try to take people as I find them."
Yazmin Oukhellou has previously spoken about the accident, describing how she tried to wake McLean and reach the car horn without success. She managed to free herself from the wreckage and found help, but knew he had died. Oukhellou has spoken about suffering from PTSD, nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks since the incident, and has undergone therapy for anxiety, questioning why she survived while McLean did not.