Sam Vanderpump and his pregnant fiancée Alice Yaxley looked loved-up as they attended a children’s event in London on Thursday.
The pair were among the stars at the Fuse Communications Press Day – a shopping and pampering event where guests browsed the latest baby and kids’ collections.
For the occasion, Sam, 28, cut a stylish figure in a cream knitted jumper paired with blue jeans.
Meanwhile, Alice, 24, looked radiant in a chic white co-ord that perfectly showcased her blossoming baby bump.
The couple appeared in high spirits as they posed for photos together, joined by their reality co-star Tabitha Willett.
The outing comes just weeks after Sam revealed his end-stage liver disease diagnosis.
Sam Vanderpump and his pregnant fiancée Alice Yaxley looked loved-up as they attended a children’s event in London on Thursday
The pair were among the stars at the Fuse Communications Press Day – a shopping and pampering event where guests browsed the latest baby and kids’ collections
The couple appeared in high spirits as they posed for photos together, joined by their reality co-star Tabitha Willett
Speaking on an episode of the Made In Chelsea, Sam, who is the nephew of Lisa Vanderpump, said his life expectancy might only be four to five years unless he gets an organ transplant.
Sam was born with the rare conditions congenital hepatic fibrosis of the liver and polycystic kidney disease.
They were dormant in his body until he got the flu in December and, coupled with asthma, his organs struggled to cope.
During a conversation with Ollie Locke on the E4 show, he said: ‘There is no hope of my liver getting better and he said I wouldn’t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years.
‘They’re sending me for liver transplant assessment, so yeah.’
Ollie asked Sam how he was feeling and he replied: ‘The way I look at it is I’m healthy now, hopefully I will remain healthy all the way up until I’ll get a call and go in for surgery and then I wake up and I’ll be healthier.’
Sam said other people ‘will be higher up on the list who can’t survive the surgery,’ so he is unsure when the transplant will happen.
After the heartbreaking episode aired, the Instagram account for NHS Organ Donation said they hope Sam serves as an ‘inspiration’ to others.
The outing comes just weeks after Sam revealed his end-stage liver disease diagnosis
They wrote: ‘You may have seen in tonight’s episode of Made in Chelsea, that one of the cast members Sam Vanderpump needs an organ transplant. Our thoughts are with Sam and his family as they face this news. We hope that his courage in speaking out will offer inspiration to others.
‘Sadly, thousands of people are currently waiting for a life-saving transplant because not enough people agree to donate their organs.
‘If you want to be an organ donor and save lives after your death, please confirm your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and ensure your loved ones know and support your decision.’
Earlier this year, Sam told how he ‘nearly died’ after liver and kidney failure caused life-threatening sepsis.
The star said he was lucky to be alive after being rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in December with the flu only to discover the ‘terrifying’ truth behind his symptoms.
Sam explained how his quick-thinking fiancée Alice phoned an ambulance after the reality star became ‘delirious’ having spent days in bed suffering from dehydration and severe back pain.
Sam, who was told by doctors if he was admitted to hospital 24 hours later it would have been too late, learned his liver and kidneys had stopped working and he needed urgent medical attention.
And as Sam’s body fought off the infection, he contracted sepsis, leaving his mother Simone and partner Alice fearing for his life.
Earlier this year, Sam told how he ‘nearly died’ after liver and kidney failure caused life-threatening sepsis
The reality star had a catheter fitted because of being unable to pass liquids which led to severe water retention and his stomach swelling to the size of a pregnant woman
Sam said: ‘I thought I was going to die. I didn’t think my body could cope and that was the scariest thing. It was terrifying.
‘I remember the doctor saying to me that I was going into liver and kidney failure. I burst into tears. My mum didn’t react badly, you would expect her to be in complete meltdown, but she didn’t want to scare me.
‘The words they used for the function of my liver were “deranged” and “demonic”. You don’t feel your organs normally but when they stop working and because my liver and kidneys weren’t working my heart was in overdrive, my pancreas was struggling, my spleen wasn’t well…
‘And you can feel all this pain and uncomfortableness, I was really, really fighting to keep myself alive. I didn’t think I was going to survive or see the outside of the hospital again.
‘You never think the flu will lead to you being in a hospital bed and nearly dying. They told my mum that if I had got to hospital 24-48 hours later, I wouldn’t have made it. By calling the ambulance, my girlfriend literally saved my life.’
Sam, who was rushed to the Resuscitation Department, explained how doctors were shocked by his initial test results, which highlighted the severity of his condition.
He said: ‘There is a liver function test, when your liver is performing normally there is a protein called CRP (C-reactive protein), which releases protein into your blood to fight against infection.
‘When there’s no infection in your body you produce 0-5 milligrams because you don’t need it so when you have a mild infection, it will be around the 50 milligram mark and when it’s a bad infection and you need to seek urgent medical care it’s about 100 milligrams… but mine was up in the 400s.
The couple announced they were expecting their first child last month, with the pregnancy coming as a shock to the pair, particularly to model Alice, who has polycystic ovaries
‘My white cells, which are meant to be between 8-12 were double that. My liver enzymes, which are meant to be at 40, were at 140. They told me I was the sickest patient on the ward.’
It wasn’t just liver and kidney failure which caused Sam to be so unwell.
He also contracted sepsis, which occurs when an infection triggers an extreme reaction in the body’s immune system.
Sam said: ‘This all led to sepsis. Luckily, they worked overtime, monitoring me every single hour.
‘For the first 48 hours they struggled to get the infection under control. For the next seven days I was on two different types of antibiotics and one anti-fungal.’
As a result of his condition, Sam, famed for his appearances on E4 series Made In Chelsea, developed jaundice, causing his skin and whites of his eyes to turn yellow.
He also had a catheter fitted because of being unable to pass liquids which led to severe water retention.
