She continued to wow fans with her even slimmer physique last week – proudly showing off her midriff as she shared one of her gruelling workout routines with fans on Instagram.
Breathless Gemma Collins defiantly told her 2.1m followers, “Every lunge is getting me to the person I want to be. Every breath I’m gasping for is getting me to where I want to be.”
Confidently baring her stomach, Gemma, 40 – who sparked concern after sharing pics of a tiny lunch of grilled salmon with five slices of cucumber last week – added, “A few weeks ago I would not be pulling up my top.” Fans praised the Diva Forever star’s effort – with one gushing, “You look amazing, Gem”.
Now pals tell Closer that Gemma’s new motivation is down to Australian actress and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson’s recent body transformation.
After vowing to make 2020 her “year of health”, Rebel, 41 – who’s currently working on a “secret project” in London – shed 4½st by working out six times a week with her personal trainer and reportedly following a diet called the Mayr Method, which encourages high-alkaline foods such as fish and vegetables.
A source tells Closer, “Gemma was inspired by Rebel’s journey, and she’s said Rebel’s helped her realise she can do the same and motivated her to be the UK’s Rebel Wilson. She’s even more determined to reach her size 14-16 goal, especially so she can be in the best possible shape to try for her longed-for baby.”
After yo-yoing for years – fluctuating between a size 14 and a size 24 since finding fame on TOWIE in 2011 – Gemma famously shed 3st during her stint on Dancing On Ice in 2019. But in the months that followed, the self-coined “GC” struggled to keep the weight off, which she blamed on “stress eating”.
Gemma – who was a slim size 10 growing up – previously revealed how her weight gain was sparked by a heartbreaking split in her mid-20s which led her to “self-medicate” with food.
Similarly, Rebel has also said that emotional eating is her “vice”, revealing, “I’ve done a lot of work on myself to realise the unhealthy patterns and unhealthy behaviours and why I was doing them.”
And insiders say discovering that some of Rebel’s struggles mirror her own, further encouraged Gemma to follow in her footsteps – and even call on their mutual pal, Ant Middleton, for advice.
In January, Rebel teamed-up with the SAS frontman to appear on his show, Ant Middleton & Rebel Wilson: Straight Talking – where she candidly opened
up about her journey as she took part in a series of gruelling challenges. Gemma goes way back with Ant, having first met him at Essex hotspot The Sugar Hut in 2015.
The source says, “Learning that Rebel’s relationship with food has been so similar to her own struck a chord with Gemma – she felt a connection to Rebel and has been looking into how she overcame the mental obstacles to losing the weight.
She messaged Ant for advice and to ask him to help her “do a Rebel” – she even asked if he might be able to put her in touch.
“While Rebel and Gemma haven’t actually spoken, Ant passed on some great tips of hers which Gemma really appreciated. She is still holding onto hope that she’ll meet Rebel at some point and said she’d love to send her some of her Meme gear and hopes she’ll one day be able to get her on her show.”
Check out: 11 jaw-dropping TOWIE couples we completely forgot about
11 TOWIE couples you completely forgot about - slider
1 of 11Mark Wright and Sam Faiers
Mark and Sam's on/off relationship goes all the way back to when she was 16 and they met on MySpace (aw, those were the days). They briefly dated during their time on TOWIE but were never able to give things a proper go before he quit the show in 2011.
2 of 11Kirk Norcross and Amy Childs
Kirk and Amy's flirtationship was one of the main storylines during the first season of TOWIE and they eventually briefly dated before splitting in 2011. In a 2013 appearance on This Morning, Kirk admitted, "I will still love Amy until the day I die - she is literally like the girl version of me. When it didn't work out, it broke my heart really... and it wasn't her fault, it was both of our fault."
3 of 11Gemma Collins and Charlie King
Gemma and Charlie briefly dated in 2012 but split after she grew concerned about his friendship with Bobby Norris. Two years later, Charlie came out as gay during an appearance on This Morning. He's still friends with Gemma and even admitted in 2017 that he would consider being the GC's sperm donor if she asked.What a turn of events that would be.
.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
4 of 11Lauren Goodger and Tom Pearce
Remember the days when Joey Essex's BFF Tom Pearce romanced basically every woman within a 10 mile radius of Brentwood? Lauren Goodger became one his many conquests following her split from Mark Wright but they hit the rocks when she caught wind of him bragging about their rendezvous.
5 of 11Mario Falcone and Chloe Sims
It's fair to say Chloe Sims has been unlucky in love over the years but things looked up for her when she began dating close pal Mario. Things moved quick for the pair and she even admitted she loved him - causing friction with BFF Lauren Pope who'd previously dated Mario - but he wasn't ready to settle down and called things off.
6 of 11Harry Derbidge and Bobby Norris
After three years away from the TOWIE scene, OG cast member Harry Derbidge returned as Bobby Norris' boyfriend (in some very skimpy swimwear, nonetheless) during the cast's annual jaunt to Marbs.Their relationship ended in tears though when Harry confessed to sleeping with his ex while on holiday in Tenerife.
7 of 11Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh
They've now found love with soap star other halves Jacqueline Jossa and Ryan Thomas but before that, Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh were an item.They began dating in 2013 but called it quits amid claims he knew about his ex Megan Tomlin being pregnant before getting with Lucy.
8 of 11Charlie Sims and Ferne McCann
Ferne McCann's on/off relationship with Chloe Sims' brother Charlie provided LOTS of dramz on TOWIE over the years, with rumours she cheated on him cropping up more than once.Eventually Charlie publicly quit the show AND dumped Ferne at the same time in a series of tweets in 2014. Awks...
9 of 11Dan Edgar and Kate Wright
Before she wed footballer Rio and became Mrs Ferdinand, Kate Wright joined TOWIE as the ex of Dan Edgar, who reportedly dumped her to star in the show.She took him back after his romances with Lauren Pope and Jess Wright but it wasn't to be and they eventually split for good.
10 of 11Shelby Tribble and Tom McDonnell
Tom McDonnell joined TOWIE alongside a whole host of newbies including Harry Lee and Chloe Brockett in 2019 and soon caught the eye of Shelby Tribble following her split from Sam Mucklow.Sam soon came back on the scene though and Shelby dumped Tom to reunite with her ex. Sam and Shelby later quit the show together and are now expecting their first child.
11 of 11James Argent and Jasmin Walia
In between his long-running relationships with Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins, James Argent was set up on a blind date with Jasmin Walia and they appeared to hit it off. Things seemed to move too quickly for his liking though, causing him to run from her house after being introduced to her parents. Oh, Arg...
Meanwhile, Gemma’s on/off boyfriend, James “Arg” Argent, 33, has also been on a fitness drive after revealing his decision to go under the knife after reaching 27st.
WATCH: TOWIE's Chloe, Amber and Courtney answer our quick fire questions
READ MORE
Why TOWIE bosses have been forced to step in and protect cast
While Gemma and Arg are notoriously rocky – with their latest public spat being last July when Gemma shared screenshots of Arg calling her a “fat f--k” – rumours of a reconciliation swirled after they were seen having a “flirty dinner” in October, and they have continued to keep fans guessing over their relationship.
And insiders say Gemma is still holding out hope that she and Arg can start a family together – with the pair working on their issues as a couple and being supportive of each other’s weight-loss journeys.
The source adds, “They’re still navigating some issues, but Gemma’s made it clear that she wants a baby this year and will do it with or without him.
“Of course, she’s hoping Arg will father her baby and she’ll get her dream ending but, whatever happens, she says getting as fit and healthy as possible will give her the best chance of achieving her dream of being a mum.”
Get the best celeb interviews in Closer magazine each week.