Their on/off relationship had the nation hooked for seven years after they first started dating on TOWIE, but following her latest public break-up with James “Arg” Argent – the longest time they’ve even been apart – Gemma Collins admits she’d love to meet somebody special to spend Christmas with.
The TOWIE and Diva Forever reality star, 39, and Arg, 33, called it quits over summer after he reportedly told her he wanted to move to Spain and have an open relationship.
Despite seemingly rekindling their romance in October, when they were spotted on a dinner date accompanied by Gemma’s young nephew, it now appears they have gone their separate ways once more.
This month, Arg has celebrated being clean and sober for 11 months. His best pal, Mark Wright, paid for him to attend a Thai rehab centre last New Year after he admitted to hitting “rock bottom” with a cocaine addiction. He was congratulated on his milestone by his ex and former TOWIE co-star Lydia Bright’s family, including her little sister, Romana, and mum Debbie – while Gemma and her family remained publicly quiet on the milestone.
And Gemma now says that, despite keeping her options open on meeting somebody new, her priority is settling into her new country pile in Essex, just in time to put up the festive decorations.
The star – who last week was tipped for a Christmas number one by her celeb fan Robbie Williams, after releasing a cover of Baby It’s Cold Outside, with her former CBB housemate, Darren Day, for charity says, “I love Christmas and a new man would be the best ever present, but there is no one on the scene right now. I do plan to be in my new house by then, though. I had a house fall through and I’ve just bought a really big Essex country home. Hopefully Santa will come down my chimney and bring something nice.
“I think for me, this year, it’ll just be about getting into my new house and decorating it, and what will follow then will happen. Who knows?”
Check out: Gemma Collin's best diva moments
Gemma Collins' best diva moments of all time - slider
1 of 12When Gemma paraded through the Big Brother garden with a Shetland pony
When the Celebrity Big Brother stars were asked what one-off luxury they would like to be treated to in the isolated house, what did Gemma ask for? Contact with her family? Nope. A pamper treatment? Not quite... No, the GC asked for none other than a Shetland pony - which she proceeded to dance with around the garden. While stroking the pony, Gemma exclaimed "I want pink ones with glitter in their hair".
2 of 12When Matt Evers saved Gemma's precious blow-dry from the rain
Matt Evers protects Gemma Collin's fabulous blow-dry whilst leaving himself to become soaked in the rain on the Dancing on Ice red carpet.
3 of 12When Gemma slipped during her Dancing on Ice routine
The 2019 series of Dancing on Ice is the gift that keeps on giving and poor old Gemma had viewers glued to their screens when she tripped over her foot and skidded across the ice. Ouch. The TOWIE queen soon picked herself up and styled through her ice-skating miss-hap. Jason Gardiner reportedly suggested that Gemma's fall was karma for her diva tantrum the week before.
4 of 12When Gemma's entourage fixed her dress on the NTAs red carpet
Can you even call yourself a diva if you don't enlist a personal helper on the red carpet? The GC had her entourage to hand, ready to smooth out any creases in her glamorous dress.
5 of 12When she spent 72 hours in the jungle
Gemma famously lasted just 72 hours in the I'm a Celebrity jungle, but she still managed to make the nation laugh with her outrageous behaviour. The TOWIE star even insisted "People that murdered get treated better than this, and thats the truth. Even a murderer gets fed three times a day."
6 of 12Gemma's infamous candy scene
Ah, the early days of Gemma and Arg's relationship. The GC was filmed in a Marbella special, when she famously told on/off boyfriend Arg "Don't ever disrespect a girl like that again. Take a good look at this, you ain't ever gonna get this candy.", before dropping her throw and strutting away in a black swimsuit.
7 of 12Gemma's friendship with Kim K's BFF
Gemma made pals with no other than Kim K's best-friend, Jonathan Cheban in Big Brother, where she told him "By the time you're finished with me, I'm gonna be a Gem-dashian." The stars have been friends ever since and Jonathan even flies over to the UK to visit Gemma, where the pair go on fancy shopping trips to Harrods together.
8 of 12When she was a total diva in an interview
Anyone else still cringe when they remember that painfully awkward chat between Gemma and an interviewer who hadn't read her book? The GC had a major diva-meltdown when she found out the journalist hadn't been seen a copy before holding the interview, thus ending the call, "Darling, don't worry, we're going to get the book publishers to send everyone doing an interview the book. Thank you, bye!"
9 of 12When Gemma went into full GC mode on Jason Gardiner
Dancing on Ice has been full of feisty celeb dramas. Gemma didn't hold back after Jason Gardiner accused of her being lazy. The TOWIE star furiously shouted "Boring!" before yelling, "Don't sell stories on me." Poor Matt Evers couldn't even hide how awkward he felt...
10 of 12When she dumped her date live on Loose Women
Ah, poor Laurence Hearn - the charming man that attempted to win over Gemma, only to be dumped live on Loose Women weeks later. OUCH.
11 of 12Basically, her entire time in the CBB house
Other hilarious moments from Gemma's stint in the Big Brother house included yelling at producers, "I don't need the money! I've got money!". She also got upset when Big Brother failed to provide professional blow-dries: "This is very expensive hair and its all frazzled, because you've only got straighteners in here, you haven't got heated rollers. So, you can pay for me to have a new set of extensions. Straighteners are what weirdos use on their hair."
12 of 12And when she fell down the trap door at the Teen Choice Awards
Talking of Gemma's tumbles - how could anyone forget her iconic fall down the trap door at the BBC1 Radio Teen Choice Awards?
After lockdown, her break-up, and living with her brother for a year, Gemma admits her big move will help her to feel more settled after a turbulent 2020.
She reveals, “Fingers crossed, I’ll be in my new home by Christmas. I’ve been living with my brother and his children for pretty much over a year now. But if it’s just me, my mum and my dad, and our family dog for Christmas, I’m happy with that.
“It’s a bit annoying that you can’t make proper plans because of the Coronavirus. It’s hard because I’m somebody who likes to plan. I love to be in control and I love to organise everything – but it has definitely made me a lot calmer because I’m normally going at 100 miles per hour! I can have Christmas Eve dinner with my brother and his two kids, then Mum and Dad can come to mine on Christmas Day. The next day they can go to my brother’s place.”
She adds, “We’re just going to have to juggle it. You just have to stick to the rules as we all want to get the country back to normal and we need to get on with our lives.”
Back in September, Gemma encouraged her two million Instagram followers to adhere to government guidelines in a bid to rescue Christmas, her favourite time of year.
She wrote, “LET’S DO THIS. We could SAVE Christmas and more importantly SAVE LIVES.”
Despite her love for all things festive, Gemma admits she often remembers previous Christmas periods where she’s felt sad about being single.
“The time of year always heightens emotions if you are on your own,” reflects Gemma.
“But at the end of the day, God’s got a plan for me and a man and a relationship and marriage are just going to happen when they happen. The universe will bring it all for me. You never know what’s going to happen in your life.”
Gemma has made no secret of the fact she wants to settle down and start a family of her own, so 2021 might be the year that she meets The One – but only if they meet her high standards.
She says, “I love my family, but they just want to see me settled, I suppose because they look at me doing everything on my own. But it’s got to be with the right person, hasn’t it?
“The question I always ask myself is, ‘Is he going to give the GC a child?’
“It absolutely has to be right for me. Until then, I’m riding solo and I’m doing everything on my own. I’m a really strong person, and there’s nothing I can’t do.”
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Turning the big 4-0
Gemma will celebrate her 40th birthday in January and reveals how she’s feeling about reaching the milestone...
‘I’m body confident’
“I’m more body confident than ever now as I’m approaching my 40th. At the end of the day, I’m an icon. No one believes the age that I am, I’m trying to ‘age reverse’ myself. I really am trying my hardest.”
‘I’ve lost a great amount of weight’
“I’ve lost about 3st. It’s been a great amount to lose, but I’ve still got a bit of a way to go, if I’m being honest. I still want to lose another 2-3st. If you walk and you go on a bike ride every day, then you can really lose weight.”
‘I want to stay looking young’
“I’ve achieved a lot. All of what I’ve done up to this date has been a warm-up for the big 4-0. Turning 40 is going to be the real game changer for me. I still want to keep myself looking young and being 40 doesn’t mean you need to look old and frumpy. 40 for me is the new 20, honey.”
‘I get better with age’
“The older I get, the better I become. I like the thought of turning 40 because I’m more mentally aware now – I’ve experienced so much more and I’ve got life experiences. I’ve had the knocks, but I’ve had the comebacks. Turning 40 is when I’m really going to do some damage.”
Gemma Collins: Diva For Christmas, Wed 9 Dec, 9pm, ITVBe
You can read more celebrity news in this week's Closer magazine - out now.