Joey Essex and Sam Faiers

Joey Essex and Sam Faiers

Joey Essex says his relationship with Sam Faiers has benefited from no longer being shown on 'The Only Way Is Essex'.

The reality TV star and his lover - who have had two breakups and a broken engagement - are in a better place without being on the show, and he insisted they are "a lot happier" with their romance.

He told The Sun on Sunday newspaper's Fabulous magazine: "When you're playing out a relationship on TV, you're in each other's faces all the time.

"Now it's a normal relationship and it's a lot more healthy. Before we used to see each other on telly. Now we see each other when we're watching TV on my sofa or hers.

"We're a lot happier, 100 per cent. We're a lot busier than we were on 'TOWIE', so we have to plan when we can see each other. Unfortunately, when I was in Ibiza, she was in Portugal doing a personal appearance."

Meanwhile, Joey opened up about their reunion in March following a split 10 months earlier, and admitted her being diagnosed with Crohn's disease prompted him to talk to her again.

He said: "[The illness] gave me, not an excuse, but [I felt] like I, 100 per cent, needed to talk to her.

"It was like, I can't not talk to her. As soon as we spoke to each other, it was like that.

"It's all or nothing with me and Sam. It's like every time we're talking [and then] we split up, but as soon as we start talking again, it's full on."