Drowning her sorrows: Chantelle Houghton looks worse for wear as she heads home following a night out with friends

It's been a long time since Chantelle Houghton has let her hair down following the birth of her daughter Dolly and the breakdown of her relationship to fiancé Alex Reid. But allowing herself to take a night off, Chantelle was pictured looking worse for wear as she headed home after a night out celebrating a friend's 30th birthday on Saturday night. The 29-year-old looked exhausted and was seen struggling to stay upright as she jumped in a cab back to her Essex home. Looks like it's just what she needed: Chantelle Houghton looked a little worse for wear when she was pictured on Saturday evening heading home following a night out with some friends Looks like it's just what she needed: Chantelle Houghton looked a little worse for wear when she was pictured on Saturday evening heading home following a night out with some friends Showing Alex what he's missing, Chantelle wore a white embroidered peplum top with a pair of black leggings which did well to show off her slim post-pregnancy body. Heating up her ensemble with a scarlet quilted Chanel handbag, the mother-of-one completed her look with a pair of leopard pint heeled ankle boots. Yummy mummy: Chantelle wore a white peplum top with black leggings and a pair of leopard print boots Yummy mummy: Chantelle wore a white peplum top with black leggings and a pair of leopard print boots Steady: The mother-of-one looked a little wobbly on her feet as she struggles to keep her composure Steady: The mother-of-one looked a little wobbly on her feet as she struggles to keep her composure Steady: The mother-of-one looked a little wobbly on her feet as she struggled to keep her composure She has had a hard time of late, and surely no-one could begrudge Chantelle for wanting a night out with some close friends. And the former Celebrity Big Brother star looked like she had a good time, and made sure to upload a picture to her Twitter account during her evening away from her daughter. The caption which accompanied the image, in which Chantelle can be seen beaming as she rests her head on one of her friends, read: 'Happy 30th birthday to my gorg friend Emma luv u xx' Girls night: Chantelle joined her friend Emma and a group of pals for her night out Girls night: The 29-year-old joined her friend Emma and a group of pals for her night out Earlier, Chantelle was seen with her rollers in her hair and wearing a pretty white top. She seemed far happier and relaxed than she has been recently as she showed off her pre-party look outside her Essex home. The reality star was clearly excited about the night out, but admitted she was also slightly wary. Bedtime: Chantelle looked exhausted as she hopped out of a car and made her way home Bedtime: Chantelle looked exhausted as she hopped out of a car and made her way home She posted a message on her Twitter page which read: 'Going out for my friends 30th, feel so nervous going out. It's been so long.' However, perhaps she was just suffering from nerves as it's been a while since she has gone out without baby daughter Dolly. But it seems she got over her nerves the longer the grooming regime went on, and even flashed a rare smile. Big night out: Chantelle looked happier than she has been recently Big night out: Chantelle looked happier than she has been recently as she got ready for her night on the town It's not clear who looked after baby Dolly, but Chantelle's ex-fince Alex Reid was spotted at her house on Thursday night. And from the looks of it he was attempting to smooth things over with the mother of his child following a war of words between the pair in separate magazine interviews after their recent split. However, their love affair is still not back on, but it's believed they are on better terms for the sake of their three-month-old daughter. A close pal told MailOnline, 'Alex is keen to see Dolly as much as he can but he and Chantelle are not back together.' Nerves: Chantelle tweeted: 'Going out for my friends 30th feel so nervous going out. It's been so long.' Nerves: Chantelle tweeted: 'Going out for my friends 30th feel so nervous going out. It's been so long.' Nerves: Chantelle tweeted: 'Going out for my friends 30th feel so nervous going out. It's been so long.'