TOWIE favourite Gemma Collins has bravely spoken out the brutal assault she claims to have suffered at the hands an her ex-lover, shortly before her infamous 2014 stint in I’m a Celeb.
Gem also released a series of photos to The Sun, which show the full extent of the injuries that left her so traumatised she had to quit the show.
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One particularly graphic snap shows a bleeding wound on her head, her blonde hair matted with blood.
Another shows numerous lacerations to her hand. She also shared photos of a smashed window from the night she was allegedly attacked in a jealous rage and locked in her own flat.
The assault is said to have happened in late 2014, shortly before Gemma was due to fly out to Australia to take part in the reality show.
But she says the attack left her so traumatised, she couldn’t cope and was forced to walk from the ITV series.
Gemma told the paper’s Bizarre column: “I just had to forget it all and head to Australia. But when I was there, he was so mentally abusive.
“He was calling my phone and I told him to stop and I blocked his number and then I was having meetings with execs and was trying to prepare for the jungle.
“I had to do it but unfortunately when I got in there – I could not get it off my brain and as the days went on I was in so much pain. I am gutted that everyone thought I was a quitter and hungry but that’s not the truth.”
Gemma admitted she’s felt embarrassed for the last three years because fans didn’t know the truth and believed she walked from the show because she was hungry.
She now says she’s ready to go back in and give the challenge another go.
Gemma also said: “I do want to return to the jungle and prove what I could do. It was a terrible thing that happened.
“I go out on dates with new people but even if they move their arm too quick I jump because it never leaves your mind. I would consider myself a very strong person but even I wasn’t strong enough to switch off to it.
“If I was to go back I wouldn’t have that first dread of going back. He is out of my life this time – don’t worry about that.”
Gemma has been hotly tipped to appear in the next series of I’m A Celebrity in November. Although we’re not sure how she’d cope with some of the bush-tucker trials after declaring she’s now vegan on last night’s Towie.
The blonde told her Essex pals: “The other day I had a cup of tea. I was drinking the milk in the tea and I could smell the calf being ripped from the mother.
“This is how I feel right now — basically my diet there is just lentils, beans and pulses.”
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No kangaroo penis or witchetty grubs then, Gem?