James Argent goes public with his 18-year-old girlfriend as they enjoy romantic trip to Spain

James Argent has gone public with his romantic relationship with 18-year-old actress Stella Turian.

The former TOWIE star, 34, was spotted kissing his new girlfriend on Saturday during a getaway to Marbella, where he has been singing at Olivia’s La Cala restaurant, owned by pal Elliott Wright.

They were photographed being very affectionate as they walked down the street before Arg set off on a jog.

The couple are said to have met while Arg was in Mykonos attending a friend’s wedding and instantly fell for each other.

A source told MailOnline: “James and Stella are in love, they fell for each other the moment they met and have spent as much time together as possible since.”

The insider continued: “This is a big deal for James – he hasn’t been in a relationship for years because he’s been working on himself and finally now, he’s ready to share his life with someone.”

“The age difference hasn’t played any part in their romance so far, they’ve holidayed together in Italy and Marbella, getting to know each other away from the spotlight.”

Italian actress Stella appears in the film ‘Infiniti’, which screened at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

She is James’ first public girlfriend since his split from former TOWIE co-star Gemma Collins.

They ended their on-off eight year relationship after a public bust up in which Arg allegedly called Gemma a “hippo” during a row.

It also came at a time when James was struggling with a cocaine addiction and was spending hundreds a week on the drug.

The 34-year-old is said to still be on good terms with his ex-partner who is currently in a relationship with businessman Rami Hawash.

Arg appeared on GB News in July, where he opened up about his love life and revealed that he had already met someone.

Speaking to  GB News presenter Mark Dolan, he said: “I feel more confident and I feel like I’m ready to potentially meet someone, like there was someone I’ve met recently who’s lovely, but she lives abroad."

He added: "We are in contact and stuff but I’m literally like from now till the very end of August, I don’t really have a day off to be honest with you.

“So we’re gonna carry on talking and hopefully we might see each other, we’ll plan something maybe at the end of the summer, maybe September time, something like that.”

Last year, he lost 14 stone in nine months following gastric surgery.

The operation, which cost £10,000, saw 70 percent of his stomach removed in a bid to tackle his binge eating which followed his recovery from cocaine addiction.