Tulisa Contostavlos has opened up about her exit from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in one of her first interviews since leaving the jungle.
The N-Dubz singer, 36, became the third contestant eliminated from Ant and Dec’s ITV reality programme, shocking viewers as many thought she’d be in the final.
Unexpectedly, she deleted all posts from her Instagram page upon her exit, and flew back home to the UK instead of remaining in Australia with the other stars to see Danny Jones crowned King of the Jungle.
Tulisa later returned to Instagram to ‘clear a couple of things up’ and told her followers that she was taking a bit of time for herself because it was ‘all feeling a little bit much at the moment.’
She’s now spoken about the moments after her exit, before she left Australia, and the fear she had of ‘exposure’.
The former X Factor judge told The Guardian: ‘I came out, still followed by cameras, all tits and teeth, and it wasn’t until I was on my own that I felt this introvert-overload.
‘I was hyperventilating, crying. It was too much.’
She went on: ‘Is this about a fear I have of being in the spotlight? Or is the person I’ve become just not the kind of person that wants fame any more?’
Speaking of choosing to go in the jungle, she told the publication: ‘I had a lot of fear surrounding exposure, and I got to the point where I thought: “Am I holding on to this fear because of what people have done to me in the past? Am I letting other people change my perception of what my career is and could be?” I didn’t want to feel that way any more.’
This comes after Tulisa reassured fans over her absence from I’m A Celebrity, after she deleted traces of the show from her social media.
She told her followers: ‘I’m just doing a video to clear a couple of things up, just so you know, when I came out of the jungle, I felt fine first of all and then that evening, my friends went to bed, I was on my Instagram, just trying to have a nice little casual scroll at some funny stuff or the stuff that I like to watch, and I was getting a lot of attention, a lot of bombarding, in all the most positive ways.
‘But because it’s been a bit of a while for me, I can get overwhelmed quite easily, and I just started to feel a little bit overwhelmed.
‘I thought, do you know what, I really need to take a bit of time for me and just chill, and this is all feeling a little bit much at the moment.’
She explained that she wanted to ‘archive’ the posts that were published onher feed while she was in the jungle, and would make her own reels of her favourite memories ‘when the time is right’, stating: ‘I haven’t been doing my Instagram, the way that everything is posted and all the random stuff is not the way I do my Insta.’
The musician continued: ‘I just wanted to clear up the reasons why I did that and just be honest, it’s okay to feel a bit overwhelmed.
‘I’ve been out of the spotlight for a long time and I’m still trying to overcome those things.’
Tulisa outlined that she still has her ‘little demons’, but that doesn’t mean that she’s going to ‘go and hide back under a rock for another 10 years’.
‘It just means I need a little bit of time to just process and you know, get right with my thoughts,’ she said.
She finished her video by thanking ITV and I’m A Celebrity for ‘being really understanding and patient with me’, adding: ‘Mental health is important and I am super grateful for all the love and support I’ve had.
‘I just get a bit overwhelmed, I’m a bit of an introvert guys, I’d been in the jungle with people I’d only just met for two and a half weeks straight and then I’ve come out and seen loads and loads of attention and I’m like, woah this is a lot.
‘I just needed a little bit of a breather.’
She then went on to say that she wanted to clarify that she didn’t think any of her campmates were ‘fake’ after an interview on Lorraine, and that she loves her ‘jungle buddies’.
Several of them have since shared their support for her, when Tulisa did return to social media and share some pictures of her own choosing from I’m A Celebrity.
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She said: ‘Looking back at some of my favourite moments from the @Imacelebrity jungle. It’s been a whirlwind. Thank you to @itv for the experience and sending so much love to my Jungle Fam before the final tonight. Sorry I can’t be there to celebrate with you all.’
Former Love Island star Maura Higgins wrote: ‘Miss you wanna squeeze you love you,’ while winner Danny said: ‘The camp big sister we all need.’
Dean McCullough added: ‘We love you ❤️ you are with us in spirit my babe and can’t wait to see you when we get home xxxx.’
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I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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