Gemma Collins has shown regret over cosmetic procedures that left her 'unrecognisable'.
The TV personality has admitted to having dermal filler and botox - but has warned young women to refrain from cosmetic injectables and instead embrace their natural beauty.
Despite oozing with confidence and always looking glam, Gemma has at times felt the need to conform to certain beauty standards - exacerbated by spending hours on social media.
“It’s really sad all these young girls today absolutely cloning themselves - you can't tell them apart now,” Gemma told the Mirror ahead of her campaign with Bingo Blitz this week.
“I’ve had filler before, I’ve been sucked in like a vacuum and tried it but the turning point was when my mum said to me ‘I don't recognise what my daughter looks like anymore.’
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“‘Gemma, you look so weird’. I thought ‘yeah I do.’
“If you’re looking at social media all the time then you get a perception of that’s what beauty is.
“But beauty is what you see in the mirror every day; just stay true to what you are.”
Gemma, who had her filler removed last year, is now a firm believer in non-surgical beauty treatments such as cryotherapy - the freezing of abnormal tissue - which helps with her water retention as a symptom of her polycystic ovary syndrome.
Active online with more than two million Instagram followers, the former TOWIE star will film herself having lymphatic draining procedures too, which she says has changed her life.
“I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat and whatever works for some people, but I like to show people you don’t have to go under the knife,” Gemma continues.
Whilst being in the spotlight for the past decade, Gemma has countlessly been criticised for how she looks, in particular with her size.
She has previously admitted to turning to food for comfort following complications with a pregnancy in her early twenties, which resulted in a termination - a period in which she also battled with self-harm.
She was a yo-yo dieter and was often compared to her former TOWIE co-stars.
Now at the age of 41, she argues she has a healthy relationship with food and fitness and is often motivating her fans on Instagram with morning workouts.
It is something she has found easier since moving to the countryside and will spend more time being active outdoors, pottering about in her garden and swimming in her pool.
“I do really love myself and if that offends people, then they need to look at themselves,” she continues.
“I’ve got a very healthy relationship now with food and health and fitness generally.
“Does it consume my life? No. If I want a bit of cake, I will have a bit of cake but I will know to cut back the next day.
“Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes - there is so much pressure in thinking being stick thin is gorgeous, well yeah, that’s one avenue but also people can look gorgeous medium-sized, a bigger size.”
She adds: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it’s what it’s your heart.
“At the end of the day, I’ve never had an ugly boyfriend, hunny.”
Fans of Bingo Blitz, the freemium online board and card game, can join Gemma on social media for the chance to win a £1000 night out from Monday.
