{"id":52201,"date":"2026-04-27T17:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/?p=52201"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:35:31","slug":"he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/04\/27\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\/","title":{"rendered":"He faces \u2018end-stage\u2019 liver disease, But Sam Vanderpump\u2019s health battle began when he was four"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Made in Chelsea and Vanderpump Villa star Sam Vanderpump is facing end-stage liver disease, but his health battle actually began years ago. He was diagnosed with a rare liver disease when he was just four years old, and for years, it barely affected his life. Now, after being told his illness is \u201cirreversible\u201d, Sam is urgently waiting for a life-saving transplant.<\/p>\n<h2>So, what condition does Sam Vanderpump have?<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DXTvgl7jZRx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DXTvgl7jZRx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Sam Vanderpump (@samvanderpump)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\nSam was diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis, a condition you\u2019re born with that affects the liver. Speaking about his childhood diagnosis, he explained to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/3am\/celebrity-news\/made-chelseas-sam-vanderpumps-humble-37033613\">Mirror<\/a>, \u201cI have known about my liver disease since I was diagnosed at the age of four. It was incurable but for 23 years it didn\u2019t affect me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But repeated infections became a serious issue. \u201cI\u2019ve had a few bouts of cholangitis which can be life threatening, which led to sepsis and that\u2019s when I became very unwell just over a year and a half ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sam became critically ill after an infection spiralled into sepsis. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/sepsistrust.org\/sepsisvoices\/sam-vanderpump-story\/\">\u00a0The Sepsis Trust<\/a>, he recalled, \u201cI couldn\u2019t stop drinking water. I downed a litre in under an hour and my lips were still dry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cI was taking loads of codeine for the back pain, and by Monday morning I wasn\u2019t making any sense. Alice thought I\u2019d overdosed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors told him he was going into kidney and liver failure. And he was taken into resuscitation.<\/p>\n<p>After recovering from sepsis, Sam was given the news that his condition had progressed. Speaking on Made in Chelsea, he said, \u201cThere is no hope of my liver getting better. I wouldn\u2019t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doctors confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/04\/16\/sam-vanderpump-given-five-years-to-live-due-to-end-stage-liver-disease-after-vanderpump-villa\/\">he now has end-stage liver disease<\/a>, meaning the damage is irreversible. He said,\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s why they want to do a liver transplant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alice also spoke about the reality of his illness, explaining how serious things became. \u201cWhen Sam was really ill, I don\u2019t think I actually understood the severity of it because I was just in survival mode each day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h2>Sam is now on the transplant waiting list<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DS_JYEICt7m\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DS_JYEICt7m\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Sam Vanderpump (@samvanderpump)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\nAlongside hundreds of others in the UK, Sam Vanderpump is on the transplant waiting list. He has also had to come to terms with the idea of a living donor, something he initially struggled with.<\/p>\n<p>He admitted, \u201cThe last thing I wanted was to subject a family member or even a friend who\u2019s healthy to the same journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mum, Simone, even offered to donate, but was ultimately ruled out during testing.\u00a0 Friends and family have since offered to be tested. And his Made in Chelsea co-star Gareth Locke-Locke has also stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>Despite everything, Sam is trying to focus on the present and being a dad. He said, \u201cI\u2019m a positive person and each day I\u2019m dealing with it absolutely fine. And I\u2019m able to be as good of a father as I would be if I was perfectly healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For now, he is staying as well as possible while waiting for the call that could save his life.<\/p>\n<p><i>For all the latest reality TV cast member news, scandals, gossip and updates \u2013 like\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/realityshrineofficial?rdid=TzQu2kEd2cUqU4rD&amp;share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F14zX5cKubf%2F#\"><i>Reality Shrine on Facebook<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;It was incurable&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249734280,"featured_media":52202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1358],"tags":[1710,2113],"class_list":["post-52201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-trending","tag-vanderpump-villa"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/04\/27\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"He faces \u2018end-stage\u2019 liver disease, But Sam Vanderpump\u2019s health battle began when he was four","url":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/04\/27\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/04\/27\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.realitytvshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Suchis-featured-images-12-2-150x150.png","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.realitytvshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Suchis-featured-images-12-2.png"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suchismita Ghosh"}],"creator":["Suchismita Ghosh"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reality Shrine","logo":"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-mX3_1x3z.png"},"keywords":["trending","vanderpump villa"],"dateCreated":"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z","datePublished":"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z","dateModified":"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"He faces \\u2018end-stage\\u2019 liver disease, But Sam Vanderpump\\u2019s health battle began when he was four\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/realityshrine\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/realityshrine\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/27\\\/he-faces-end-stage-liver-disease-but-sam-vanderpumps-health-battle-began-when-he-was-four\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.realitytvshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Suchis-featured-images-12-2-150x150.png\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.realitytvshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Suchis-featured-images-12-2.png\"},\"articleSection\":\"News\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Suchismita Ghosh\"}],\"creator\":[\"Suchismita Ghosh\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Reality Shrine\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/realitytvshrine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/cropped-mX3_1x3z.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"trending\",\"vanderpump villa\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-27T16:35:31Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/realitytvshrine.com\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249734280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52204,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52201\/revisions\/52204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}