Gemma Collins says she’s feeling more confident than ever since she started taking weight loss and diabetes drug Mounjaro earlier this year. And now, having shed some pounds, the former TOWIE star claims she’s ‘saving the NHS‘ with her new weight.
“I’ve lost so much weight, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s the only thing I’ve managed to lose weight on without putting myself on a stressful diet. It is a revolutionary, life changing drug for people that are overweight. I feel so much happier in myself, I feel a million dollars,” says Gemma.
She continues, “I think I’m actually saving the NHS. I won’t be going to the NHS with an obesity related illness so I won’t be putting any strain on it. I’m loving life, honey.”
Mounjaro is a prescription-only treatment for weight loss and diabetes treatment . It comes as a weekly self-injectable pen and was launched in the UK privately last year.
Admitting she feels like a whole new person, Gemma shares, “It’s just a shame I had to wait until I was 44 for this life changing drug to come out because being overweight isn’t good for your health, and it’s just so lovely now that I have now been able to live like a normal person. There’s no food noise anymore. I feel so much better and free as a person to concentrate on other stuff because I’m not constantly thinking about food,” says the Romford-born star.
As Gemma gets used to her dress size shrinking from the injection, she says it’s a slow and steady journey for her – not a race to drop the pounds. “I want to lose another 2 stone, this time I’ve done it super, super slow and I’ve not put any pressure on myself. I’ve followed it exactly how I needed to do it.
“All of my clothes are too big now, that’s the problem, I’m wearing everything oversized. As the weather gets warmer, I am just gonna start being able to wear tighter stuff and things like that, but I’m not quite there yet. I’ll put some pyjamas on and a nightie, and I’m like, ‘God, these are massive’. I can’t believe they used to fit me and now they’re hanging off.”
She continues, “Even when I go places and people take pictures of me, I’m like, ‘Wow. Is that really me?’ and I’m not asking them to angle the camera higher or anything to make myself look smaller. And my body isn’t in so much pain so I’m not carrying so much weight. So it’s nice, but I’m not obsessed with it, hun. I’m not dying to be thin and all of that. It’s just slowly, slowly with me.”
Gemma’s positivity is radiating through as we chat via video call, and it’s clear she’s in a positive headspace on this new weight loss journey. But it’s not just Gemma’s weight which has put a spring in her step, as she has also been embracing family life at home with fiancé Rami Hawash and his son, Tristan.
After first meeting in 2011 and enduring an on/off relationship for three years, Gemma and Rami split before reconciling during lockdown. They have now been engaged since 2021 and Gemma is a doting stepmum to six-year-old Tristan.
Clearly having mellowed since her reality TV days, Gemma tells us how, these days, she enjoys time at home and in the countryside with her family. “I’m obsessed with the Cotswolds. I’m really loving going there at the minute. I’m really lucky that we live in the countryside and when the weather is good it’s lovely. But when I’m at home, I try to chill out and end up doing a load of gardening or creating work for myself rather than relaxing!”
As we chat about countryside escapes and potential holidays further afield for the family this year, Gemma explains a new campaign she’s working on with peach schnapps brand Archers to help plan holidays.
Acting as ‘head travel agent’ for Archers, Gemma is supporting the brand’s new AI travel agency tool, which can aid Gen Zers to book extreme minibreaks in the UK and Europe.
Discussing the new and easy way to plan holidays with the tool, Gemma explains, “People just want a holiday that is quick, fun and fabulous. So many more people are travelling now at a drop of a hat. And that’s exactly what the Archers AI travel agency does, whether you’re off with your besties or you want to escape solo, this tool just sorts out a 24 hour itinerary in seconds.”
The campaign is inspired by the 24h travel trend circulating social media, and Gemma says she’s all too familiar with speedy holidays.
“I flew into Mykonos for 24 hours once. I said to my agent, ‘I’m going to Mykonos’ and he said, ‘You can’t, I think I’ve got you a job’, but It wasn’t confirmed. All of my friends were going and I was like, ‘I can’t miss this’. So I decided to book it and not tell my agent, and I thought, ‘worst case I’ll just fly back home’.
“I got into Mykonos late at night and the next day I was in a beach club when my agent called me and said, ‘The job is confirmed’. I managed to fly home at 7am the next day and get to London for 9am and go straight to work. Only the GC could fly into Mykonos for 24 hours! I did think, at that point, I really do need a private jet in my life now, honey.”
The Archers Refreshed 24 Hour AI Travel Agency helps Brits plan fun getaways with zero faff. Visit makeitpeachy.aito receive a tailored itinerary – complete with an Archers cocktail to get you in the holiday mood. The launch marks the newly refreshed Archers bottle available nationwide.
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