It’s been over a decade since TOWIE viewers whooped as Gemma Collins told James “Arg” Argent to “kiss that” as she slapped her bum and strutted off set during the show’s Marbella special.
Gemma, 42, has since become one of the show’s most successful stars and, after ditching Arg for good in 2020, reunited with former love Rami Hawash, 49.
Despite moving on, however, insiders reveal that photos of Arg, 35, packing on PDAs in Venice with his new girlfriend, Italian actress Stella Turian, 18, have “triggered” past traumas Gemma experienced during their rocky seven-year romance.
A source says, “Gem’s happy with Rami, but she can’t help being triggered by seeing Arg and his new girl. She feels angry for the time and effort she put into that relationship and the emotional scars that she was left with due to the horrible things Arg said. Her friends worry that it’s still haunting her.”
Gemma and Arg’s toxic relationship was fraught from the start, and she’s since opened up about suffering a miscarriage, as well as saving his life “three times” amid his former cocaine addiction.
Her body image struggle became a cruel weak spot for Arg to target during stormy rows. After they were intimate for the first time, he cruelly compared her to his ex, Lydia Bright, saying, “If she was as skinny as Lydia then she’d definitely be prettier...”
Seven years later, in 2019, while he was struggling with the weight gain which led to his gastric band surgery in 2021, Arg publicly apologised to Gemma after admitting sending cruel texts, including, “You’ve got more rolls than Greggs. You fat, horrible lump.”
And our source says she still suffers the effects of Arg’s emotional abuse. “She never really got over it. She’s told friends that those public slurs haunt her .Gem struggles with her weight and has for most of her adult life. It’s such a sensitive and personal thing for her.”
Last month, Gemma sparked speculation she’d split from Rami – who she reunited with last year after first meeting in 2011 – when she unfollowed his Instagram. Days later she assured fans “everything is good”, adding, “Rami is a businessman and doesn’t always want to be on camera.”
But while Arg continues to flaunt his new romance, the source says Gemma is struggling to put on a brave face.
They add, “She’s tried everything to get past it, even hypnosis, but she’s got to the stage where she feels there are some wounds that will never heal. Her friends have reminded her how toxic their romance was, but Gem is determined to keep pushing through it to get to the other side.”
