Jake McLean will be laid to rest today, six weeks after he tragically died in a horror car crash in Turkey.
The businessman was on holiday with his on-off girlfriend Yazmin Oukhellou, when their Mercedes car overturned after plunging 30ft into a ditch on Sunday July 3.
Jake tragically died at the scene, while Yazmin, 28, had to break her arm to free herself from the crumpled vehicle and call for help. She was later taken to hospital where she needed surgery for her injuries.
On Tuesday, former TOWIE stars gathered to pay tribute ahead of the funeral, with Sam Mucklow leading the tributes to Jake.
Alongside a montage of photos from their teenage years, Sam penned: "Jakey Boy. You played a huge part in my life over the years, helped shape the person I am today. Love you J.
"The day has come that we lay you rest in paradise Jake and celebrate your life. You're always in my mind and will forever be in my heart."
Jake's ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison also paid tribute to the businessman of her Instagram by sharing a series of emotional quotes.
She shared: "When we lose someone we love we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind."
Another post said: "The light remains... there are some who bring a light so great to the world, that even after they have gone, the light remains."
Another of Jake's friends Georgie Dark wrote: "Will be thinking of you and your family... I can't believe you're not here anymore."
After his tragic death, Yazmin returned to the U.K and spoke about the horror car crash.
Doctors told Yazmin she was 'lucky' to have survived. Yazmin heartbreakingly thought Jake was "just unconscious" when she first discovered they had crashed, and asked a passer-by to help him.
"It was lay there and bleed to death, or snap my own arm to try to save us," she recalled to The Sun.
"I didn’t want to admit it to myself that he could be dead. So I thought, ‘Right, I can either lay still and bleed to death, or snap my own arm to try to save us — I had no choice."
She recalls snapping her arm through "pure adrenaline and panic" and managing to climb out of the car.
Yazmin then spotted a man walking his dog who assisted her with her injuries as they returned to the car to try save Jake.
"I climbed back down and tried to check his pulse but I couldn’t feel anything and then the ambulance came," she remembers.
Sadly, Jake was declared dead at the scene as Yazmin was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The reality TV star and Jake - who previously dated Lauren Goodger - are believed to have first become a couple in May last year, with Yazmin confirming their relationship on Instagram the following December before splitting shortly after.
She explained how the couple were "off" at the time of her visit to Turkey, but the pair had "wanted to reconcile."
Speaking about the late businessman, the TOWIE star describes Jake as "only person I have ever felt a love like that for", and says the ordeal will be a "very, very difficult" thing for her to process.
"This will stay with me for life. But for me, I loved him so hard and that’s why I travelled across the world to be with him," she added.
