She’s been confidently flaunting her shrinking physique in true “GC” style – looking fantastic in a white swimsuit recently after revealing she wants a winter wedding at posh London hotel, Claridge’s. And pals say Gemma Collins, 41, is on a mission to be a size 16 bride when she weds her fiancé, Rami Hawash, 48, later this year.
A source says, “Gemma can’t wait to walk down the aisle looking and feeling her absolute best, and now she’s decided to go all-out with the best wedding money can buy, she wants to ensure she looks the part too.
“Gemma knows the size she feels most comfortable at and with wedding fever mounting, it’s made her more determined than ever to hit her target of a size 16, so she can look and feel her best on her big day.
“She’s been dress shopping and has already got her heart set on three different creations – insisting she has the licence to have at least three outfit changes as The GC!”
Opening up about her lavish wedding plans, the self-proclaimed diva revealed, “I already know where I want the wedding, it’s going to be at Claridge’s and it’s going to be a winter wedding because I’m not prepared to sweat… I’m sorry, I’m not sweating in that dress and make-up. We will have a really lovely, earthy and beautiful party. But it will be somewhere like a woodland setting.”
The star’s dream venue, in London’s Mayfair, has long-standing connections with royalty and is sometimes referred to as an “annexe to Buckingham Palace”.
The source adds, “Gemma wants her wedding to be the showbiz bash of the year and now she’s bagged the A-list location, she wants to ensure she has the A-list look.”
Known for flying the flag for curvy women, the former TOWIE starhas made no secret of her weight battle over the years. Gemma – who was a slim size 10 growing up – has previously revealed how her weight gain was initially sparked by a heartbreaking split in her 20s, which led her to “self-medicate” with food.
The self-confessed emotional eater said, “Every time I felt an emotion I would eat to block it. Food gave me a high. I started to fixate about food. It became a focus from the grim reality of my situation.”
After yo-yoing with her weight for years – fluctuating between a size 14 and a size 24 – Gemma shed 3st during her stint on Dancing On Ice in 2019. But in the months that followed, the star struggled to keep the weight off, which she blamed on “stress eating” amid her toxic on/off relationship with James “Arg” Argent, 34.
Her turbulent 10-year romance with Arg – who once cruelly branded her “a whale” and a “fat f**k” – further added to her insecurities. Gemma admitted how Arg’s drug and alcohol addiction caused her to “stress-eat” during the darkest times in their relationship, which led her weight to yo-yo even more.
And after hitting a plateau, she turned to controversial skinny jabs – injections said to suppress the appetite and speed up the metabolism – in a bid to get back on track, which she later admitted she “regrets.”
“Sometimes you’re in such a desperate place and you want to lose weight,” she admitted on her self-titled podcast last year.
“Since turning 40 I’ve become so much more aware of my health and I’m kind of regretting maybe not taking my health as seriously as I should have done.”
But since finally calling it quits with Arg and reuniting with car salesman Rami – who has a four-year-old son, Tristan, with his ex – finding true happiness has helped her get back on track.
She recently gushed, “I feel very content, I feel very secure, I feel very whole. I’ve got a wonderful partner who works exceptionally hard and he’s got his own business.”
The source says, “Being in a healthy, loving relationship has not only given Gemma her confidence back, but it’s helped her to finally conquer her demons and have a healthier relationship with food. While Rami loves her whatever her size, he’s Gemma’s biggest supporter, knowing how much she wants to reach her goal. He’ll do meal plans with her and he’s always there to motivate her and give her that extra push.
“Rami’s helped open her eyes and realise that all those years of self-loathing were just a desperate way to mask how unhappy she was.”
Earlier this year, Closer revealed how the star had been further motivated by Rebel Wilson’s incredible body transformation after the Bridesmaids star, 42, shed a whopping 6st. Much like Gemma, Rebel has spoken out over her longing to become a mum – revealing the motivation behind her weight loss was to boost her chances of conceiving.
And pals say Gemma – who tragically suffered two miscarriages in the past – is also hoping her slim-down will help her start a family. The pal adds, “Gemma’s been joking that Rebel’s going to help her get a sexy size 16 figure, but behind the scenes she’d love to get back to the best shape possible to have a child. She’s hoping her baby dream will come true.”
