{"id":512601,"date":"2026-04-04T13:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/512601\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:45:19","slug":"gemma-collins-in-tears-before-health-diagnosis-as-she-reveals-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/512601\/","title":{"rendered":"Gemma Collins in tears before health diagnosis as she reveals symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gemma Collins is re-entering I\u2019m A Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out Of Here! after she famously quit after just three days in 2014, as she says she has ‘never lived it down’<\/p>\n

07:00, 04 Apr 2026Updated 08:17, 04 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"For<\/p>\n

For Gemma Collins it wasn\u2019t just a reset, it was redemption(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Swapping your glam squad<\/a>, your family and your luxury mansion for a hot and dusty hammock in South Africa is a reset by anyone\u2019s standards. But for Gemma Collins<\/a> it wasn\u2019t just a reset, it was redemption.<\/p>\n

Ever since she quit I\u2019m A Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out Of Here!<\/a> after just three days in 2014, Gemma has been unable to shake off a feeling of failure. So when she was asked to go on I\u2019m A Celebrity: South Africa she pushed her fears aside and went hell for leather towards reclaiming her reputation. Not only did she face her fears and make new friends, she also had an epiphany about family life and realised she needed hormone replacement therapy for perimenopause.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Gemma Collins posts wedding photo after secret ceremony but fans aren’t convinced<\/a>READ MORE: Craig Charles reveals devastating family loss ahead of I\u2019m a Celeb return<\/a>\"Gemma,<\/p>\n

Gemma, 45, is one of 12 stars signed up for a series of brand new trials and challenges in the South African wilderness(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like I\u2019d committed a murder,\u201d says Gemma of her first jungle experience. \u201cI stepped off the plane and Good Morning Britain was there. I\u2019ve never lived it down. I felt like the woman from Game Of Thrones who has to walk through the streets naked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gemma, 45, is one of 12 stars signed up for a series of brand new trials and challenges in the South African wilderness. She\u2019ll join Adam Thomas<\/a>, Ashley Roberts, Scarlett Moffatt, David Haye, Beverley Callard, Seann Walsh<\/a>, Sinitta, Sir Mo Farah, Craig Charles, Jimmy Bullard and Harry Redknapp<\/a> in the Kruger National Park, home to black mambas, spitting cobras, spiders, scorpions, baboons, hippos, hyenas and leopards.<\/p>\n

\"Ever<\/p>\n

Ever since she quit I\u2019m A Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out Of Here! after just three days in 2014, Gemma has been unable to shake off a feeling of failure(Image: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

Before filming began in September, Gemma went on holiday to Cyprus with her fianc\u00e9 Rami Hawash to celebrate his 50th birthday. While she was there she soaked up the last vestiges of luxury and forbade him from mentioning the upcoming ordeal. When they returned home, she arranged for exotic animal handlers to bring snakes and creepy crawlies to her home to help her acclimatise. Still she felt unprepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did have a moment at Heathrow Airport, where I looked at my make-up artist and said, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I can do this.\u2019 And she literally slapped me. She was like, \u2018Get on that plane.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Gemma\u2019s wobbles weren\u2019t over. \u201cI did cry for about an hour into the plane journey because I was scared,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cIt brought back a lot of deep-rooted trauma from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"With<\/p>\n

With something to prove, Gemma channelled the spirit of pop star, Britney Spears<\/p>\n

With something to prove, Gemma channelled the spirit of pop star, Britney Spears<\/a>. \u201cWhen I hear the Britney song Stronger , that\u2019s my anthem,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of myself [for going] back there. I just felt so much stronger this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of our most-loved reality stars, Gemma lives life at a million miles an hour. She\u2019s always posting on her socials, meeting her fans and it feels like every moment of her day is accounted for. When she\u2019s not filming, she\u2019s making a home with Rami and his eight-year-old son Tristan. Then there are the dogs<\/a> to walk, and the family chickens need feeding.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of luxury, Gemma says the show gave her a much-needed reset, and a digital detox. \u201cI felt I was a child, a young girl again without the pressures of fame or paying the bills,\u201d explains Gemma. \u201cIn the jungle atmosphere you realise the good strengths and qualities in you because you\u2019ve got no distractions. I thought, \u2018What does make me happy?\u2019 It\u2019s nature, my family, my partner and my stepson, my dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gemma will soon chart her marriage and motherhood journey in her new Sky show Four Weddings And A Baby, which she promises will be her most revealing yet. \u201cYou see me broken,\u201d Gemma says. \u201cIt\u2019s not all plain sailing. It\u2019s very raw. You see that despite the lights, the big house, the glamorous life, you can still be broken in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"When<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not filming, she\u2019s making a home with Rami and his eight-year-old son Tristan(Image: Instagram)<\/p>\n

Being away from stepson Tristan during her jungle journey made her realise that she already has the family she\u2019s always dreamed of. \u201cNot many people know I\u2019ve had a stepson in my life since he was three. I\u2019ve never really shown our family life but on a Friday we normally pick my stepson up from school and our weekend starts. In the jungle I could feel from the back of my head those thoughts and memories coming forward on Friday. I had to go for a little walk and talk myself down but those moments come over you and you realise in there what means the most to you. And it\u2019s those family moments,\u201d says Gemma.<\/p>\n

The moment the show ended Gemma rang Tristan and flew home to see him the very next day. \u201cI rang him the minute I got out of there and he was delighted,\u201d says Gemma.<\/p>\n

Gemma is a prolific social media influencer, but she found being cut off from her phone liberating. Being unable to check her socials meant she formed deeper connections in the camp. \u201cIt was the best digital detox,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cIt was very spiritual and healing being with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

As one of our most-loved reality stars, Gemma lives life at a million miles an hour.(Image: Anthony Harvey\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

Since coming back from South Africa, Gemma has become stricter about her own phone use. \u201cI have a rule that my mobile phone stays in my kitchen overnight now,\u201d she says. \u201cI think one of the worst things you can do is wake up and look straight at your phone and start scrolling. So I make sure I get up, I open my doors, I let my dogs out, I take in the morning. Then once I\u2019ve had a shower and I\u2019m ready for the day, that\u2019s when I\u2019ll action the phone.<\/p>\n

“That has helped me a lot. One of the best things that came out in the jungle was actually having a genuine conversation. I heard stories from other campmates that I never knew about them. They found out stuff about me. We laughed. We cried. We genuinely became human again and not distracted by phones.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she was away, Gemma also listened to her body more and realised she\u2019s in perimenopause and needs HRT. \u201cI was waking up just bursting into tears in the morning,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing to be sad about, but it\u2019s a very strange thing. You just start to notice it coming on. One of my first symptoms was itching in the inner ear. That is what alerted me to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Since<\/p>\n

Since coming back from South Africa, Gemma has become stricter about her own phone use(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

As much as Gemma tried to address her fears ahead of the show, she still suffered during the trials. \u201cIt\u2019s no secret I\u2019m claustrophobic. It is genuine,\u201d she says. \u201cI was put in a water tank with crocodiles and I had a fully blown panic attack in the tank. But then the klaxon went and I was just like, \u2018Let\u2019s do this.\u2019 Then the shock set in after. They never got easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest trials of the show is surviving on rice and beans. After briefly taking Mounjaro injections last year, until a gallbladder attack stopped her using them, Gemma was used to eating less and was surprised when she left the show to find she\u2019d dropped over a stone. \u201cWhen they weighed me I\u2019d lost 1st 4lb,\u201d says Gemma.<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/p>\n

Before filming began in September, Gemma went on holiday to Cyprus with her fianc\u00e9 Rami Hawash to celebrate his 50th birthday(Image: Instagram)<\/p>\n

One thing Gemma struggled to shake off was the smell of the camp. \u201cYou\u2019ve never smelt anything like it,\u201d she says. \u201cI stunk. It was the fish guts, even the dried mealworms have a smell. I had about five showers and one bath to get rid of the smell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once I\u2019m A Celebrity: South Africa has aired and Gemma\u2019s public redemption is complete, she\u2019ll turn her attention to Four Weddings And A Baby . Getting married will be a huge moment for Gemma who has dreamed about her wedding day since she was a little girl. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I left it this long to sort it out,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cBut I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t get married when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for having a baby of her own, Gemma says perimenopause won\u2019t stop her. \u201cIt will happen, it\u2019s just a timing thing,\u201d she says. \u201cWatch the show!\u201d<\/p>\n

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok<\/a>, Snapchat<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, YouTube<\/a> and Threads<\/a>.<\/p>\n