Made In Chelsea’s Sam Vanderpump joins his pregnant fiancée Alice Yaxley at the Avatar: Fire and Ash premiere – after his end-stage liver disease diagnosis

As a huge fan, I was so thrilled to see Sam Vanderpump, looking fantastic, at the Avatar premiere with his lovely fiancée, Alice Yaxley! It was especially heartwarming to see him enjoying the night after everything he’s been through with his recent liver disease diagnosis. It just shows what a strong person he is.

The 28-year-old reality star revealed on the show Made In Chelsea last month that he has a serious, irreversible liver condition. Without a liver transplant, doctors estimate he has only four to five years to live.

He was born with two uncommon conditions affecting his liver and kidneys, but they didn’t cause problems until recently. He developed a severe infection called sepsis, which caused his organs to start failing.

Despite feeling upset, Sam and the other person tried to appear cheerful at the London premiere. Sam looked sharp in a black coat and striped pants.

Alice meanwhile showed off her growing baby bump in a brown silk dress and matching fur coat.

She boosted her height with simple black heels and carried a small quilted bag with her.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third film in James Cameron’s Avatar series, continuing the story that began with the original 2009 blockbuster and its 2022 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Directed by James Cameron and written with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the movie picks up the story of Jake Sully and Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) as they face new dangers threatening their family and home.

Last month, Sam shared his fear that he wouldn’t live long enough to meet his son, after learning he urgently needed a liver transplant.

On the ‘We Need To Talk’ podcast, Sam shared the story of how he found out what was causing his health problems, shortly after discovering his fiancée, Alice, was pregnant with their first child.

He described the experience as terrifying, but admitted he couldn’t recall exactly when it happened. He estimated it was possibly eight to twelve weeks prior, explaining that trauma can often cause people to block out memories of the event.

I received a notification on my NHS app. My wife, Alice, was at work, and I was home by myself. When I saw it was a letter from King’s College, I opened it up, and it was surprisingly short – just four lines long.

The letter said, ‘Dear Sam, your recent CT scan results are consistent with your illness, and we are referring you for evaluation to see if you’re a candidate for a liver transplant.’ Hearing that news was completely shocking – it felt like my heart stopped and my stomach dropped.

When Paul asked what was going through his mind, he started to cry and admitted he was scared. He said, ‘I was terrified… I was just wondering if I was going to die.’

Sam, who lost his father seven years ago, shared that his first thought always goes to his future child. He explained, ‘It makes me sad to think my dad will never get to meet his grandchild.’

‘To now start having that thing dawned on you. Am I going to see my child? That’s terrifying.’

Since sharing his diagnosis on Made In Chelsea, Sam has been vocal about his health journey. He wants to increase awareness of the often-missed symptoms of sepsis and encourage people to become organ donors, with the goal of helping to save lives.

He acknowledged that sharing his news brought up painful memories he thought he’d dealt with, and it led to a difficult time for him recently.

Sam shared that he had a difficult emotional breakdown, crying for about twenty minutes. He credited his aunt, Lisa Vanderpump, with giving him the motivation he needed to cope, especially for the sake of his partner, Alice, and their baby on the way.

Lisa, 65, is known for appearing on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and now has her own show, Vanderpump Rules. She’s the sister of Sam’s father, Mark Vanderpump, who is a businessman and DJ.

Following Mark’s death by suicide in 2018 at age 59, Sam and she grew even closer. He had previously shared that she was a fantastic support system for him and his brother, really stepping up during a difficult time.

Sam explained that he became overwhelmed because he hadn’t expected so much attention from the media after sharing his diagnosis on the E4 reality show.

I had a difficult time a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to share what happened because I wanted to raise awareness and do what I felt was right.

I thought I’d appear on Made in Chelsea, do some interviews, and that would be the end of it. That’s genuinely what I anticipated.

About eight weeks later, I had managed to process what happened and put it aside for the time being. That’s when the media attention we discussed earlier really took off.

Honestly, hearing the doctor say a liver transplant has a really high success rate meant the world to me. It solidified it – I will be here for my son, no matter what. That’s just a promise I’m making to myself and to him.

Of course, I have some worries, but the good news is I’m healthy right now. My liver may not last another four or five years, but I’m getting a transplant, and I expect everything to be okay. I’m looking forward to a long and happy life.

I managed that situation and worked through it, and Made in Chelsea actually showed it really well. Then the media went into a frenzy, with newspapers reporting I only had four or five years to live – which wasn’t true. That was incredibly damaging and really affected me.

Then suddenly, I found myself in a situation where my mom was clearly upset. I could hear the sadness in her voice, and she seemed to sense it in mine as well.

You start to wonder why you even brought it up, realizing you made a mistake by sharing it. You wish you’d kept it to yourself and handled the situation privately within the family, working through it together.

‘And I broke and I sat there with Alice and we just took 20 minutes to cry.’

Sam shared that Lisa was his main source of encouragement, remembering that a conversation with his aunt had motivated him to take action. He said she ‘gave him a kick up the backside,’ meaning she urged him to get going.

She really emphasized how important it was for me to be there for Alice, and for my son, too. She acknowledged that I was having a tough time, and it meant a lot that she understood what I was going through.

Honestly, she just got me, you know? She really understood how I was feeling, but she also gave me this amazing, much-needed push. It was like a wake-up call! That moment, I suddenly realized why I was doing all of this – it’s about getting the word out there, making people aware. It all clicked, thanks to her.

There are 8,000 people on the transplant list who would love to have the opportunity I have to raise awareness and encourage organ donation. If more people signed up, we could significantly shorten that list and help them get the life-saving transplants they need.

Sam and Alice shared the wonderful news that they’re expecting a baby boy in September, with a due date of Valentine’s Day next year. They’ve already chosen a name for him that is very meaningful to their family.

Sam shared that they’ve named their child Marmaduke. The name has a special meaning – Sam’s dad, who has passed away, always hoped their brother would be called ‘Duke’ and even predicted he’d become Prime Minister, imagining him as Duke Vanderpump.

I adored the name, but my mum wasn’t a fan. That’s why my brother ended up being called Jack. Our dad cleverly gave Jack the middle name Daniels as a bit of a playful win.

We absolutely love the name Marmaduke, so we’ve nicknamed him Duke. We were already leaning towards it, but a scene in Downton Abbey where Maggie Smith and her daughter talk about a character named Marmaduke sealed the deal!

Sam shared that Alice helped save his life. Last December, he thought he had the flu, but she realized he actually had sepsis and quickly called an ambulance.

Doctors told him he came very close to dying and that if he hadn’t been hospitalized a day earlier, it likely would have been fatal.

Honestly, I was absolutely convinced I was a goner. It wasn’t just fear, it was this feeling like my body was completely failing, like it couldn’t handle it anymore. That was the truly terrifying part – I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it.

I’ll never forget the moment my doctor told me my liver and kidneys were failing. I was completely overwhelmed and just burst into tears. What surprised me even more was my mum’s reaction. Knowing how much I was going through, she stayed remarkably calm – she didn’t want to add to my fear, and I really appreciated that. It was a tough moment, but seeing her strength helped me stay strong too.

Doctors described my liver function as severely abnormal, even frightening. You don’t usually feel your organs, but when they start to fail – and both my liver and kidneys were failing – my body went into crisis. My heart was working much too hard, my pancreas was having trouble, and my spleen wasn’t functioning properly.

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 underestimate the flu, but it almost cost me my life. Doctors told my mum I was very close to death and wouldn’t have survived another day or two. Thankfully, my girlfriend called an ambulance just in time, and she saved my life.

2025-12-11 23:05

Read More