Former TOWIE star Kate Wright to move in permanently with Rio Ferdinand and his children

Former TOWIE star Kate Wright and Rio Ferdinand are planning to move in together, a rep for the ex-footballer has confirmed.

The pair, who seem to be inseparable since making their relationship public last summer, seem to be ready to take the important next step of moving in together.

After rumours the Essex blonde was planning to move in with the 38-year-old, a rep for Rio confirmed to Mirror Online that the pair are indeed going to be living together soon.

The news come after The Sun reported that a source said the move was the 'next natural step' for the couple, after spending so much time together when they were recently on holiday in Dubai.

'She's all but moved in already – Kate and Rio are inseparable. It's the next natural step for them – after spending so much time together in Dubai, it seems ridiculous that she'd move back to her flat in Essex.

'She already spends a lot of time at Rio's and keeps a lot of her stuff there too. It's only a matter of time until they make it official,' the source reportedly said.

The pair reportedly started dating in January, and kept their relationship under wraps until they went on a family holiday to Portugal.

The father-of-three then posted a picture of the sunny trip, where Kate could be seen hanging out with his family.

A few weeks later Kate made another important public statement regarding their relationship when she announced she was going to 'take a step back' from showbiz to focus on her relationship with Rio and his children. 'I'm taking a step back from the public eye, I want to keep my life private as I lived my previous relationship on TOWIE, my priority right now is Rio and the family', she told The Sun in September.

Just last month Rio, who lost his wife Rebecca in 2015, also spoke about the relationship publicly for the first time, when he revealed on This Morning that it's 'going well'.

'I'm happy again, and in a relationship and it's going well. The kids are also happy, they deserve to be after going through tragedy in the last few years of their life.

'There's not been one stage of going into this relationship where they've not been involved. As long as they feel they are involved and in the conversation I think there's a chance they can reach happiness.'

The string of romantic public statements culminated while they were on a half term holiday in Dubai, when Rio posted a picture of Kate and his children on social media and called her 'family'.

The pair are yet to confirm the exciting news themselves on social media, but we're hoping for a cute announcement soon...