'I'm living proof you don't have to conform to society'

Outspoken Gemma Collins on suffering from depression, the pressures of fame and why she's got nothing to prove

- OLIVIA BUXTON

We catch up with the ever funny and frank Gemma Collins at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to find out more about her new-found passion for gardening.

She tells us the hobby has helped her after a “sticky period” battling depression, and says, “I was a manic person and yes, I was crazy, yes, I wanted to get to the top of my career. No MOFO was going to stop me and I was so ‘on it’, but now I’m just like, ‘Breathe... what’s going to be will be.’”

Looking serene in green as she strolls through the showstopping floral displays, the newly Zen TOWIE star, 42, also opens up about her chilled country life with fiancé Rami Hawash, 48, a new treatment for mental health issues, her take on motherhood and why she’s expecting the patter of tiny (chicken’s) feet in the near future…

How are you feeling these days, Gemma? 

I’ve suffered from depression at various times in my life but I’m off all medication now. I felt like my judgment was really clouded when I was taking it and I couldn’t feel anything. I’m very big on spirituality and following my own intuition and I felt that when I was on the tablets, it just numbed it. I was too manic before and that’s why I had to go on the tablets – because you can’t cope with the level of pressure – but now I’m off my tablets. I’m so calm. 

Have you tried any other treatments?