GEMMA Collins has revealed she self-harmed because she struggled with her meteoric rise to fame.
The 41-year-old was working as a car saleswoman when she first appeared in Towie in 2011 and it wasn’t long until she became one of the show’s most iconic characters.
Speaking about the impact of that for the first time in her new Channel 4 documentary Gemma Collins: Self-Harm and Me, the star told her fiance Rami Hawash what triggered her to hurt herself – but insisted she never considered suicide.
“It was never about you, it was never about any of that,” she said. “It was to do with me, obviously I was going through something and the only way I could relieve the pressure was to cut myself.
“I never wanted to kill myself – that never went through my head.”
Gemma continued: “It was like a coping mechanism for me, so you know, when I just obviously, suddenly got famous and then people were coming up to me every five minutes. The pressure, the build-up, I couldn’t express myself properly.”
Looking to the future, she added: “In the back of my mind because obviously we do want to go on to, you know, have a baby and stuff. I feel very happy with you and very settled with you and I think always in the back of my mind, you think, ‘Oh s**t, is it going to come back?’”
As well as being incredibly candid, the film will see Gemma also speaking to experts who will explain how to spot signs someone is self-harming and will provide details of what support is out there for people struggling with their mental health.
Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me airs on Wednesday, February 16 at 9pm on Channel 4.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123, email [email protected] or visit samaritans.org for more info.
