I’m A Celebrity star Gemma Collins has left fans full of praise after sharing a striking, unfiltered swimsuit snap on Instagram today (Saturday, April 18), just hours after opening up about the intense body scrutiny she faces.
The TOWIE favourite spoke candidly during last night’s episode of I’m A Celeb, revealing how public opinion has affected her confidence over the years.
Gemma opened up (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celebrity star Gemma Collins’ body ‘scrutiny’ admission
During Friday night’s show (April 17), Gemma got emotional as she chatted with Scarlett Moffatt and Adam Thomas about the pressure she’s felt around her appearance.
“There’s all the scrutiny. I never used to worry about it. But cos everyone goes on body image about this that and the other you then become like thinking you’re disgusting and ugly every day because of all the pressure and people saying horrible things,” she said.
“And actually I’m just alright as I am you know. This is me. I get sick of it, this diet that diet, this pen, that pen. You know at the end of the day I think we’ve just got to accept all of us come in different shapes and sizes and we can all be beautiful in our own way.
“It’s really whats in your heart. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder at the end of the day,” she added.
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I’m A Celebrity star Gemma Collins shares unfiltered swimsuit snap
Following the episode, Gemma took to Instagram to share a photo of herself enjoying a dip in a pool beside a waterfall in South Africa, proudly embracing her natural look.
“There I stood, at the edge of a wild South African lake, sun warming my skin like it already knew me. No mirrors. No filters. No expectations. Just water… waiting. And for a second, all those old whispers tried to follow me in, telling me to cover up, to shrink, to be less. But the lake didn’t whisper. It roared in silence,” she wrote.
“It said: You are not too much. You are not not enough. You are nature, standing in nature. So I stepped in. And with every ripple, I let go… of judgment, of comparison, of the idea that my body was ever meant to be anything other than alive. The water held me the same way the earth does, without question, without condition. In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about how I looked. I was feeling how I lived,” she continued.
“Strong. Free. Unapologetically here. This body… has carried me, protected me, brought me to this exact, beautiful place. And today, in this wild, open water, I honour it. Not when it’s smaller. Not when it’s different. Now,” she added.
Gemma also urged her followers to move away from heavily filtered content online.
“Exactly as it is. @imacelebrity. We just need to understand that living the life through a filter constantly is not healthy for anyone, not for you, the young girls of today, and boys; everyone is living a lie. If Instagram removed filters and all these apps were not available, we would get a much truer realness of what the reality REALLY is,” she said.
Gemma was praised by fans (Credit: ITV)
Fans ‘in tears’ over Gemma’s post
It didn’t take long for fans and famous friends to rally around the star, flooding the comments with supportive messages.
Scarlett Moffatt shared a string of heart-eye emojis, while Jesy Nelson wrote: “We love you, Gemma.”
“Protect Gemma at all costs,” one fan commented.
“Cried real tears reading this- how beautiful and TRUTHFUL!” another said.
“This is beautiful @gemmacollins, I spend a lot of time outdoors in nature, because nature doesn’t judge,” a third added.
“You are one in a million, Gemma,” another wrote.
“We all love you, Gemma [heart emoji] beautiful inside & out x,” a fifth gushed.
I’m A Celebrity continues Monday night (April 20) from 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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