When Chloe Goodman banned her big sister Lauryn from her much-anticipated wedding in Portugal in June, both feared they would never speak again.
The fall-out stemmed from Lauryn’s decision to go public about her affair with England and Manchester City footballer Kyle Walker, naming him as the father of her baby girl Kinara, born last summer.
But the Mail can now reveal the sisters have made up – and ironically, it’s all because of the scandal with Kyle, which earlier this week ended with a long list of Lauryn’s demands of the defender being made public.
Friends of the pair say Chloe became increasingly concerned that Lauryn was struggling to cope with the pressure of the High Court battle with her footballer ex.
Chloe Goodman (left) with sister Lauryn on the red carpet in 2018 before they had their spat
England player Kyle Walker with wife Annie Kilner in the crowd after the Slovakia match at the Euros in June
After the judge lifted reporting restrictions, Chloe realised her sister’s outrageous list of demands would come out – including a £31,000 artificial sports pitch for her daughter and maintenance payments worth the equivalent of a £350,000 salary – and that Lauryn would now be exposed to a certain degree of ridicule.
‘Chloe began to feel really concerned for Lauryn,’ said one friend. ‘She feared it was all doing her so much damage that she just could not not be at her side as it all played out. She knows full well Lauryn can be her own worst enemy, and it became clear that her sister needed support to cope with what was going on.
‘Lauryn doesn’t have much of a support network, so Chloe decided it was time to start to find a way to bury the hatchet… Chloe knows Lauryn can be a nightmare but she’s her nightmare. She’s her sister.’
It was around a fortnight ago that Chloe, 31, offered an olive branch to Lauryn – who’s well known among mutual friends for being stubborn. She accepted and told me days ago of her relief at having her beloved sister back in her life.
And, on Wednesday, Chloe proved she was a loyal sister, sticking up for Lauryn on Instagram when Apprentice star Luisa Zissman attacked her and backed Kyle’s wife Annie Kilner. Luisa wrote: ‘So I know Kyle did the dirty, but his wife hasn’t deserved any of this circus. She has kept her dignity. Those kids were BRED for money. It’s a disgrace!’
Chloe responded by saying: ‘Please don’t speak about my niece and nephew in a bid to stay relevant. Kyle, Annie and Lauryn are all at fault, no one of them [is] a victim … The children are the only innocent ones. Just to be clear, I won’t be dragged into a blame game with Kyle, Annie and Lauryn. I just want the children kept out of it.’
I’m told Chloe’s staunch defence was appreciated by Lauryn. The sisters’ lives were once very much intertwined. They live on the same road and Chloe’s children, Isla, four, and Hudson, two, are very close to Kairo, four, and Kinara – thanks to Lauryn and Chloe’s mother Karen ensuring the cousins’ relationship continued despite the rift between their mums.
It was through Chloe, a former glamour model and Celebrity Big Brother star that Lauryn, 33, first met Kyle. And Chloe was one of the first people Lauryn told when she became pregnant with Kyle’s children Kairo and then Kinara.
When Chloe’s footballer husband Grant Hall proposed, she instantly asked Lauryn to be a bridesmaid at her Algarve wedding. But as the big day drew nearer, Lauryn went public with the name of Kinara’s dad by messaging his wife Annie Kilner, despite Chloe begging her to keep it a secret until after the wedding. Quickly the story raged out of control. Chloe knew she had to make the most difficult decision of her life.
She told the Mail last month: ‘I was planning the final stages [of my wedding] when all of Lauryn’s mess was coming out. So in the end I had to choose. I had to make a big decision. I simply didn’t want the drama, which meant Lauryn couldn’t be there.’ Lauryn stayed five miles down the road with her children while the rest of her family gathered for the wedding. Lauryn admitted she felt ‘very sad’ about the ban.
It was fears for that wider family – including their grandparents – that were behind Chloe’s decision to make peace. Lauryn already receives hate on social media, where she makes a living as a ‘mummy influencer’. ‘Chloe fears the worst for Lauryn, she knows what kind of damage this can do to someone,’ the friend added.
‘But it’s not just for her, but her family. Chloe fears they too will be put in a position where they’ll be taunted.
‘While Chloe knows there is very little she can do about the romantic choices Lauryn makes and the ramifications they have, she knows her sister needs her more than ever.’