Gemma Collins’ boyfriend fell seriously ill on New Year’s Eve. The reality series star Gemma shared the heartbreaking story of how paramedics came to the aid of her fiancé Rami, a 50-year-old businessman, on her Instagram. Gemma posted a photo of two paramedics who arrived in an ambulance treating Rami hooked up to a machine. Collins accompanied the photo with words of gratitude to the ambulance workers who were able to quickly arrive and help the patient.
Not long before this incident, Gemma Collins said that she was going to start losing weight from January 2025. And the TV star kept her promise by going on a diet. Losing weight is probably part of the wedding preparation process.
Rami Hawash and Gemma Collins got engaged in January 2024 while on holiday in the Maldives. Gemma recently announced that they are planning three weddings, with the main one taking place in the UK, another ceremony for family and friends and a third wedding day overseas. As OK Magazine learned from an insider, Gemma is preparing for her dream wedding, which will be in typical GC style and a little extravagant.
Early life before fame
Gemma Clare Collins, the daughter of Joan Collins (née Williams) and Alan Collins, was born on 31 January 1981 in Romford, East London. Her mother was a part-time hairdresser and her father was a director of Unisystems Freight, which dealt with import-export shipping. Gemma’s older brother, Russell, is now a director of her father’s company.
Shortly after her birth, Gemma’s family moved to Collier Row. She grew up in Rise Park, where she attended Infant School. When talking about her early childhood, Gemma always remembers that it was a time filled with love. Despite the family’s difficult financial situation, her father always took his children on family holidays, creating pleasant memories.
Collins also attended Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls. Since the girl was interested in performing arts and attended dance lessons, at the age of 14 she began studying at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and also auditioned for a part in The Sound of Music. Gemma’s mother always supported her and believed that the time would come when her daughter would become famous.
However, due to her sociability and self-confidence, Gemma Collins was bullied at school, which is why she was transferred to a private school, Raphael Independent School, where she studied for her last year. The transfer to the new school was made possible by the fact that Gemma’s father’s business became successful. But the future star did not study here for long either. When Collins was 16, she left school, having received a U in GCSE Maths. Then she was sure that she would become famous and she would not need mathematics.
After leaving school, Gemma got a job. And her work experience is truly amazing! On Saturdays, she worked in the Warehouse clothes shop, and then got a job as a waitress in a local pub, The Orange Tree. Collins also worked in the Benetton clothes shop. In addition, she looked after people suffering from mental illnesses in a nursing home. For some time, Gemma worked in a recruitment agency in London, after which she got a job as an administrator in a BMW car dealership. At the car dealership, she eventually left the administrator position to become a sales executive.
One way or another, the experiences she had in childhood and adolescence echoed in her adult life and reflected in her career.
Start of a TV career, first successes and failures
Gemma Collins is a true diva for the modern generation in the UK. She embraces the word “diva” when talking about her, and admits that this title gives her strength. Collins is known and loved no matter what. Followers eagerly await each new Instagram post of Gemma to find out what interesting things have happened in her life. She has definitely contributed to the entertainment industry, bringing something new and fresh there. Now Gemma Collins wants an OBE for entertaining the nation for more than a decade. But once upon a time, she only dreamed of becoming famous.
Gemma Collins first appeared on TV in 2000, when she took part in the ITV documentary Snobs. After filming, she visited an agent who told her that she definitely had charisma, but she would need to lose at least two stone to be on TV.
In 2011, Julie Childs invited the producers of the ITV2 reality series The Only Way Is Essex to film Gemma, a friend of Childs’ daughter. Collins, who was working in a used car dealership at the time, filmed the TOWIE with her friends for two weeks before she was cast. Gemma began appearing regularly in the second series in 2011, and her mother Joan joined the reality show in the fifth series in April 2012. It was thanks to The Only Way Is Essex that Collins became truly famous. In 2013, she released her autobiography Basically…: My Life as a Real Essex Girl, which became a real bestseller just a week later.
In January 2014, Collins took part in the second series of the ITV diving competition Splash!, but was eliminated third. Gemma says she had to overcome her fear of water during filming and also suffered some serious bruises.
In 2014, she became a contestant in the fourteenth series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, but left the show after 72 hours due to health problems. During filming, Collins also refused to go skydiving into the jungle with her co-stars, which was reportedly another reason why she dropped out.
In 2016, Gemma Collins took part in the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother and became the seventh housemate evicted. She spent a total of 29 days in the Big Brother house.
In 2017, Collins took part in the second series of Sugar Free Farm, where she and other celebrities attempted to live sugar-free. Despite her best efforts, Collins made no progress and actually gained weight. That same year, she returned to Big Brother as a special guest to complete a shopping challenge with other former contestants.
In January 2018, Gemma appeared on Celebrity 100% Hotter, where she wanted to change up her style. Even though she wasn’t happy with the results, Collins could have tried other trends.
In February 2018, she took part in the fourth season of Celebs Go Dating, which ended in controversy. Not only was she late for her date, which led to her being called a “diva”, but she also failed to show up for her date with Laurence. That same year, Collins released her second book, The GC: How to Be a Diva, in which she gives tips and tricks to women who want to gain confidence.
In 2018, she continued to star in Gemma Collins: Diva España, and also took part in the thirteenth series of Celebrity MasterChef, where she joined Spencer Matthews and Frankie Bridge, and All Together Now. Gemma sang “Big Spender” by Shirley Bassey for the first time, impressing the judges with her vocal skills. She also sang “This Is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman, finishing third.
In 2019, Collins took part in Dancing on Ice, where she was partnered with Matt Evers. The pair was eliminated in week six. During her time on the show, Gemma suffered a serious injury when she fell during a live performance, nearly breaking her jaw and neck, and severely injured her knee.
Collins then began starring in her own reality show, Gemma Collins: Diva Forever, which premiered on August 7, 2019. Although it was later renewed for a second series, production was halted due to circumstances surrounding the pandemic. That same year, The Gemma Collins Podcast embarked on BBC Sounds. A year later, Gemma began hosting her second podcast, The Gemma Collins Love Lounge, as well as a podcast on ITVBe, Gemma Collins: Diva Forever & Ever.
In February 2021, Collins appeared on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, where she discussed her early years, career, relationships, miscarriages, weight loss, and online trolling. Gemma’s appearance on Celebrity MasterChef’s Christmas Cook-Off, where she made a mushroom, chestnut and brandy sauce, won praise, although her pudding was a failure.
Gemma has been nominated five times at the annual National Reality Television Awards, and in 2021 she won in the Best Female Personality category.
What does Gemma Collins do besides working on TV?
In addition to her TV fame, Gemma is also a successful businesswoman. She has several clothing lines, fashion boutiques, her own perfumes, cosmetics, and she also actively collaborates with food and other product manufacturers.
In July 2012, Collins launched her first plus-size clothing collection, which she sold online. Gemma wanted to offer girls the opportunity to choose beautiful clothes in which they could show off their curves. When creating the collection, the TV star based her ideas entirely on her own experience. She later teamed up with fashion brand Simply Be, opened branches of the store at Highcross Leicester and Metro Centre in Gateshead, and also opened several of her own boutiques Gemma Collins Boutique. One Essex boutique has been forced to close amid the pandemic. In 2015, Gemma launched another fashion line in collaboration with Evans. In November 2017, Collins collaborated with Boohoo.com to launch a plus-size clothing line, and a year later, she presented a swimwear collection. In 2020, in collaboration with InTheStyle, Gemma launched a clothing line featuring her viral quotes and memes. She became a meme queen or a social media powerhouse and so decided to make money from it. Since this launch was a huge success, she released a plus-size collection under the brand. In May 2022, Collins signed a deal worth more than £1 million to produce clothing with fashion retailer New Look.
In September 2019, Collins released her debut unisex perfume, Diva Pink, as well as lipsticks and her own line of false eyelashes.
In March 2021, Gemma Collins teamed up with The London Aesthetics Company to launch GemmaCollagen, her own anti-aging collagen supplement and skincare system. The product was included in Grazia magazine’s Top 10 “Best Collagen Supplements.
In addition to her own business, Gemma is always ready to help other companies develop by advertising their products. For example, in May 2019, she appeared in a Burger King advertisement, and in July 2020, Collins became the face of Wizz Air.
Collins is involved in charity work and animal rights. For example, in 2020, Collins was photographed in a bathtub to highlight the fact that marine animals are separated from their families and confined in concrete tanks. Another interesting fact about her is that in 2016, Gemma insisted that the expression “Essex girl” be removed from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Gemma’s documentaries and other recent projects
In February 2022, Gemma teamed up with Channel 4 to present the documentary Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me, in which she spoke for the first time about her personal experience with self-harm, which she has suffered from for many years. Collins and experts investigating this sensitive topic, concerning the rise of self-harm in the United Kingdom which turned into a real crisis. The documentary received a positive response from the audience and was subsequently nominated for the 27th National Television Awards, in the Authored Documentary category.
In April 2022, the first live theatre tour, The GC’s Big Night Out, kicked off and ran for seven days. The first show was in Manchester on 5 April 2022, followed by Glasgow, Southampton, London, Birmingham and Cardiff. The tour concluded in Newcastle on 14 April. The show was hosted by Stephen Bailey, who interviewed Collins. She also answered questions from viewers in the second half of each show.
In May 2022, Gemma Collins auditioned for the role of Matron “Mama” Morton in the musical Chicago. Despite the criticism that came her way on social media, she trained and rehearsed hard to get the undeniable role and perform flawlessly. However, just a week before her debut, she pulled out after a knee injury she sustained on Dancing on Ice worsened. Collins was eventually replaced by Loose Women panelist and singer Brenda Edwards.
In June 2022, Collins starred in the BBC nature series Springwatch, where she talked about her love of plants and received valuable advice on how to better care for her garden. That same year, Gemma appeared on The Big Breakfast, and in September, she gave a big exclusive interview to Judi Love, in which she talked about her wedding and dispelled rumours that she was preparing to appear in upcoming series of Love Island.
In 2023, Gemma Collins became a contestant on The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off, appearing in series 6. She also starred in the BBC documentary Who Do You Think You Are?. Her episode aired on 26 September 2024. In the episode, Gemma Collins went on a quest to find her historical roots and made some unexpected discoveries. She approached historian Dr Emma Butcher in Spitalfields to find out more about her ancestors. The information she received prompted Collins to explore the topic in more detail. So, she learned that her grandmother had three sisters who lived with their parents in Tower Hamlets.
Gemma’s personal life and health problems
Her personal life is as stormy and interesting as her career on TV. In 2012, Gemma Collins dated Charlie King, with whom she starred in the reality television series The Only Way Is Essex. However, in 2014, King announced that he was gay, something Collins had suspected during their relationship.
In 2013, Collins became engaged to mechanic Rami Hawash, whom she dated in 2011 and got together with after her split from King. But very soon the couple called off their engagement. They made up and broke up several more times until Gemma confirmed she was dating Rami again in July 2021. Before that, she was spotted wearing an engagement ring in April. In December 2021, in an interview, Collins shared that she wants to give birth to a child from Hawash, as well as document the pregnancy and show childbirth in documentary series. At the moment, Gemma is the stepmother of Rami’s son. Now she is a resident of Roxwell, Chelmsford.
Gemma then dated Alexander Moss, who attacked her in November 2014. She later confessed that she regretted not pressing charges against him and not following through. She also dated James Argent in 2012 and then on and off from 2017 to 2020. Remembering how after breaking up with him she even thought about suicide and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Gemma couldn’t hold back her tears. But the main reason for her breakup with Argent was his cocaine addiction.
Gemma suffered at least three miscarriages, which significantly affected her mental state. Each time was a real heartbreak for her. She fears that she will never be able to become a mother, but at the same time she does not lose hope of becoming pregnant naturally. In 2004, Collins was forced to have an abortion in her third month of pregnancy on medical advice.
Collins was a frequent self-harmer when she was a teenager and until her thirties. She first picked up a knife and cut her hand at age of 13, right in front of her mum and dad.
Having announced her weight loss plans in December, Gemma has started implementing them in the New Year. However, she recently opened up about taking weight-loss injections. Collins was forced to resort to this method because her attempts to lose weight left her stressed and upset. Gemma Collins has revealed that she had previously tried a number of diets that had done little to help. She also admitted that she had entered into a paid partnership with Yazen, a company that specializes in weight-loss injections. Collins said that she now feels healthier and happier, and also shared the results of the weight loss process on Instagram, noting that she now wears clothes two sizes smaller. The TOWIE star made the decision after years of being bullied over her weight.
Gemma began her struggle with excess weight back in 2019 during Dancing on Ice. Then she was able to achieve good results thanks to a balanced diet and workouts, which she regularly shares on her social media. Gemma doesn’t feel shame about her weight, but she’s been under a lot of social pressure all her life.
