TOWIE’s Freddie Bentley gives devastating update on friendship with Ella Rae Wise after bitter fallout

THEY were once inseparable, filming together and always having each other’s backs on TOWIE. But Freddie Bentley, 28, has now given a devastating update on his friendship with Ella Rae Wise – and it appears the pair’s once-loose bond is over for good. Freddie Bentley has opened up about what it has been like filming Towie again Credit: ITV His relationship with Ella is now so bad they no longer film together Credit: ITV Freddie has revealed that he and Ella are kept apart on set as he opened up about the people who stood by him during a “really tough time”. And while he has managed to bury the hatchet with some of the other castmates he’s fallen out with, there appears to be little hope of a reconciliation with Ella, 26. Speaking to the Sun, Freddie confirmed: “Me and Ella don’t film with each other at all.” Their friendship first hit the rocks during filming in Portugal last year when the pair had a major bust-up. The explosive row led them to unfollow each other on Instagram, leaving friends and castmates fearing their friendship was over for good. A source at the time said: “Ella and Freddie are normally thick as thieves so everyone was really shocked to learn that they had had a bust-up. “The exact reason behind their fallout was something of a mystery but at one point, they weren’t communicating with each other at all.” Freddie later confirmed on GK Barry’s podcast Saving Grace that the pair were “not friends” anymore. Then, during the TOWIE Christmas special last December, Ella’s closeness with Harry Derbidge – who already had history with Freddie – sparked an explosive confrontation. During the row, Ella then appeared to accuse Freddie of using her to get a spot on the show, leaving him fuming. Things between the former friends were still fraught during the cast’s Vietnam trip in February, but tensions escalated when Ella allegedly told Elma Pazar that Freddie had been “slagging off” Saffron Lempriere behind her back. Elma then told Saffron who confronted Freddie, but he denied it. Ella later addressed the row on the official TOWIE podcast, revealing she had spoken to Freddie about it off camera and told him she found it “very laughable” that he denied what he said about Saffron. However, Freddie told us he and Saffron are “so good” and “really strong”. He says: “[Elma] was a very good friend for telling Saff. Elma did the right thing. “Categorically, I never, ever said those things about Saffron. Me and Ella have had private conversations, where she’s apologised to me. We can go around in circles; she’s never going to admit publicly that she’s made it up, that’s for sure… Me and Saffron are stronger than ever, so whatever she planned to set out to do didn’t work.” He also heaped praise on the female cast for pulling him through “a really tough time.” “The people who showed up were Saffron, Dani, Elma, Courtney,” he says. “[They were] checking in, making sure I was alright. They really showed up for me as friends. It was amazing. I love them girls so much. They’ve shown me what true friendship is.” Freddie’s comments on the end of his friendship with Ella come just a week after she also confirmed the pair are no longer on speaking terms. She said: “No. I’m alright with it, though. I don’t feel any type of way about it.” Freddie quit the show after the last trip to Vietnam as he struggled on screen Credit: Instagram Freddie and Saffron have managed to get their relationship back on track Credit: ITV It appears that Ella has built something of a reputation over the years for falling out with those closest to her. Her rivalry with Chloe Brockett remains one of her longest-running and most explosive, with their friendship collapsing not long after they joined the show together in 2019 when Ella began dating Chloe’s ex, Harry Lee. The feud saw the pair repeatedly clash on camera, with both branding the other insincere. Her fallout with Junaid Ahmed came to light during the cast’s Cyprus trip in 2023, with Ella accusing him of being controlling and toxic and of deliberately turning mutual friends against her. Freddie and Ella were once very close but that has all changed Credit: Raw Image Ltd Freddie has also had a tumultous relationship with Harry over the years Credit: ITV Meanwhile, her relationship with Amber Turner has been fraught since 2022, when Ella claimed Amber’s then-boyfriend – and her now-ex – Dan Edgar behaved inappropriately towards her on a night out. The feud was reignited in 2024 after Amber and Dan split and Ella and Dan had a holiday fling while filming in Bali. Meanwhile, Freddie is looking to the future without Ella as a friend and opened up about his decision to step away from TOWIE before returning for this latest series. He says: “Before Vietnam, a lot of personal things were going on in my life that one day maybe I will speak about, but for now I just need to keep that private and also to protect my family. “All these arguments were happening on top of the stress and pressure I was already facing; I was having an argument with every single cast member – I was irritated, I was frustrated. Maybe if I was vocal about the things I was going through, I wouldn’t have dealt with certain situations the way I did. “I walked away not because I didn’t love TOWIE. I needed to get a clear head. “But I want to raise the message; it doesn’t make you weak walking away and getting yourself straight. Working on yourself and then coming back is actually far more powerful than suffering in silence. “I’m here for the foreseeable. I love TOWIE. It’s my home. It feels so good to be back – and it feels like a fresh start and clean slate.” Catch up on all episodes of TOWIE on ITVX