Reality star Gemma Collins says TV led to weight issues - and she's latest celeb to blame fame for problems

Collins, who found fame on The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) in 2011, has talked candidly many times over her years in the spotlight about her struggles with her weight - and now she’s said the thinks she knows the reason why it’s been a problem for her.

In an interview with the Daily Star, she said: “If you look at me pre-showbiz to now, I only ever got bigger in showbiz. I think I used to find it stressful. Everyone was going on about my weight, and it became such a big thing.”

43-year-old Collins, who left TOWIE in 2019 but has become a household name, added an important message when it comes to people’s size. “It’s imperative that if we want to get the nation healthy, we don’t fat shame,” she said. “Everyone has fat-shamed me, and self-love has been a huge journey for me over the years.”

Collins, who has also appeared on many other reality TV shows such as , may have said that her own experience on reality TV has contributed to her weight issues, but she has said in the past that it can’t be blamed for other body issues. Speaking in 2012, she told the BBC that society, rather than reality television, is to blame for young people getting plastic surgery.

Collins is not the only famous face who has said that their fame contributed to issues in their personal life. Married at First Sight Australia star Olivia Frazer, who appeared in the 2022 series, blamed the popular show for the breakdown of her relationship with Jackson Lonie. The programme sees singles meet for the first time on their wedding day, and then undergo a series of tasks set for them by relationship experts over a number of weeks to see if a genuine connection can grow.

30-year-old Frazer was matched with Lonie, 31, and the pair seemed to have a strong relationship throughout the course of the show, however, they split up months after filming ended. Frazer, who has also claimed she was given a ‘villan edit’ on the show, told fans on her Instagram Stories a year after their break-up that she thought the pressure of the show - and how she was portrayed - led to the break-up.

She said: "I really think if the show never aired or if it aired accurately, we'd probably still be together," she said. "But alas, it did and it really put too much pressure on our relationship, as strong as it was.”

Masterchef judge Greg Wallace also blamed his fame for his difficulties in his love life. Speaking out in 2013, Wallace said he found it hard to know if women were truly interested in him or were just attracted to his fame. But, he also said his recognisable face has caused women to reject him. “I’ve had women turn me down saying: ‘Gregg, you’re a lovely man but I don’t want to be the next story in a tabloid’.” But then, on the other side, he added: “Others might like to be, which is another problem. How do you work out if they genuinely like you?”

Actress Dame Maggie Smith once blamed hit period drama Downtown Abbey for making her too famous to walk down the street. Back in 2014, she said she was mobbed by admirers while in Paris, and said that the she believed it was because of the high level of fame she gained for her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

She told Review magazine: "That's never happened to me before. It's television that does it. It was awful. I love wandering round on my own and I just couldn't. I don't go to places, and if I do, I nearly always have to have a friend. It's very difficult when you're on your own because you have no escape.

She added: “I don't know how people cope with it. What do they do, these huge movie stars? What the hell do they do? Perhaps they never go out. I certainly don't think they walk around on their own. If they want a word of advice, don't do it in Paris."