'Women have been silent about it for so long'

TOWIE's Gemma Collins opens up about incontinence and urges others to do the same

- EVE MACDONALD

Gemma Collins has never been one to shy away from difficult topics and when it comes to talking about her battle with incontinence, she's no different.

Speaking to new, the former TOWIE star says it's something she's dealt with for most of her adult life, but only now realises how widespread the issue is.

"I've always suffered from bladder leaks, probably from my mid 20s actually," she says. "But now I'm in my 40s it has definitely got worse.

"There was one moment that really made me think, 'Enough is enough!' I was trampolining with my nephew, Hayden, and absolutely loving life and having fun with him, when all of a sudden I jumped in the air and the floodgates just opened.

"I was thinking, 'Oh my God, what is going on here?' I kept jumping and the floods just kept coming - it was not OK. Out of embarrassment, I started laughing and said to Hayden that we had to leave."

Although the star, who is engaged to Rami Hawash, 49, feels able to make light of her ordeal now, she says the condition was a cause for concern at the time.

"I can laugh about it now, but [Hayden] said to me, 'You're old enough to know when to go to the bathroom'," says Gemma.

"I said to him, 'Babe, this is different. Normally, we would go for a pizza or go to the cinema afterwards - we've got our routine of having fun - but we had to stop what we were doing and go straight home.