Made in Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump and his pregnant fiancée Alice Yaxley look smitten at a children’s event in London after revealing his devastating health diagnosis

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Sam Vanderpump and his pregnant partner, Alice Yaxley, appeared very much in love while at a children’s event in London on Thursday.

The couple attended the Fuse Communications Press Day, a fun event where attendees could shop for new baby and kids’ clothes and enjoy some pampering.

For the occasion, Sam, 28, cut a stylish figure in a cream knitted jumper paired with blue jeans.

Alice, 24, glowed in a stylish white outfit that highlighted her growing baby bump.

The couple seemed happy and relaxed while posing for pictures, along with their fellow reality TV star, Tabitha Willett.

The outing comes just weeks after Sam revealed his end-stage liver disease diagnosis.

On the reality show Made In Chelsea, Sam revealed he may only have four or five years to live without a life-saving organ transplant. He is the nephew of Lisa Vanderpump.

Sam was born with two uncommon medical conditions affecting his liver and kidneys: congenital hepatic fibrosis and polycystic kidney disease.

Hidden health issues lay inactive within him until he caught the flu in December. Combined with his asthma, these problems overwhelmed his body’s ability to function.

While speaking with Ollie Locke on E4, he revealed his liver isn’t expected to improve, and he wouldn’t be talking to me if he didn’t believe I could survive the next four or five years.

‘They’re sending me for liver transplant assessment, so yeah.’

Ollie asked Sam how he was doing, and Sam explained that he felt good now and hoped to stay healthy until his scheduled surgery. He was optimistic that the surgery would make him even healthier when he woke up.

Sam mentioned that others with more urgent needs are ahead of him on the transplant list and may not be able to undergo the surgery, so he doesn’t know when he’ll receive a transplant.

Following the emotional episode, the NHS Organ Donation Instagram account expressed hope that Sam’s story will inspire others to consider organ donation.

As you may have seen on tonight’s Made in Chelsea, cast member Sam Vanderpump needs an organ transplant. We’re sending our support to Sam and his family during this difficult time, and we admire his bravery in sharing this news, hoping it will encourage others.

Unfortunately, the need for life-saving organ transplants far outweighs the number of available organs, as too few people register as donors.

If you’d like to become an organ donor and potentially save lives after you pass away, please register your decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register and let your family know your wishes so they can support them.

Earlier this year, Sam revealed he came close to death after his liver and kidneys stopped working, leading to a dangerous and life-threatening infection called sepsis.

The celebrity shared that they felt fortunate to be alive after going to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in December with what they thought was the flu, but it turned out to be something much more serious and frightening.

Sam shared that his fiancée, Alice, called for an ambulance when the reality star became confused and disoriented. This happened after they’d been bedridden for days with dehydration and intense back pain.

Doctors warned Sam that he needed immediate medical care, as his liver and kidneys had failed and a delay of just 24 hours could have been fatal.

As Sam recovered from the initial infection, he developed sepsis, which caused immense worry for his mother, Simone, and his partner, Alice.

Sam described feeling like his life was in danger, and he was deeply frightened by the feeling that his body couldn’t handle what was happening. He said it was a truly terrifying experience.

I’ll never forget when the doctor told me my liver and kidneys were failing. I started crying immediately. Surprisingly, my mum stayed calm – I expected her to be devastated, but she didn’t want to frighten me.

Doctors described my liver function as severely abnormal, even frightening. You typically don’t feel your organs, but when they start to fail – as mine were – it causes a cascade of problems. My liver and kidneys weren’t working properly, which forced my heart to work much harder, my pancreas was struggling, and my spleen wasn’t functioning as it should.

I was in so much pain and discomfort, and I truly struggled to stay alive. I honestly didn’t believe I would make it out of the hospital.

It’s easy to dismiss the flu, but it almost cost me my life. Doctors told my mother that I was just 24-48 hours away from not surviving. Thankfully, my girlfriend called an ambulance, and she truly saved me.

Sam was taken to the Resuscitation Department and told the doctors were surprised by his test results, which showed how seriously ill he was.

He explained that a liver function test checks for a protein called CRP, or C-reactive protein. CRP is normally released into the blood to help fight infection, indicating the liver is working as it should.

Normally, your body produces between 0 and 5 milligrams of this substance when you’re healthy. If you have a minor infection, that number usually rises to around 50 milligrams. A serious infection requiring immediate medical attention typically causes it to reach about 100 milligrams. However, mine was much higher, over 400 milligrams.

Let me tell you, I went through a really scary health scare recently. My white blood cell count should have been between 8 and 12, but it was over 20! And my liver enzymes? They were four times the normal level – instead of 40, they were at 140. The doctors actually told me I was the sickest person in the entire ward at the time. It was a huge wake-up call, and honestly, a really frightening experience.

It wasn’t just liver and kidney failure which caused Sam to be so unwell.

He developed sepsis, a dangerous condition that happens when the body’s response to an infection spirals out of control.

Sam said: ‘This all led to sepsis. Luckily, they worked overtime, monitoring me every single hour.

It took nearly two days to start getting the infection under control. Then, for the following week, I had to take two antibiotics and one antifungal medication.

Sam, known from the E4 show Made In Chelsea, became ill and developed jaundice, which turned his skin and eyes yellow.

He needed a catheter because he couldn’t urinate, causing a dangerous buildup of fluid in his body.

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2025-11-06 21:22