The UK has been thrown into multiple lockdowns over the past ten months with people told to “stay at home” as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – meaning thousands of holidays were cancelled due to travel bans and the closure of hospitality around the world.
In mid-December, the UK was hit with another travel ban with a large proportion of the country placed in different tiers and urged not to travel unless it was for essential work purposes, which was followed by the third national lockdown.
Despite this, social media is littered with pictures of reality stars from TOWIE, Love Island, Made In Chelsea and Geordie Shore soaking up the sun abroad – with many of the influencers defending their holidays as “work trips”, where they can create content for social-media platforms and be paid.
Many fans and followers have been in uproar, claiming celebs have flaunted the travel bans, while others have criticised the “tone deaf” decisions of the stars sharing pictures of themselves enjoying lavish holidays while so many in the UK have been devastated by the effects of the pandemic.
Love Island’s Zara Holland caused outrage when, after her boyfriend tested positive for coronavirus, she broke out of quarantine and attempted to get a flight back to the UK from Barbados – and was hit by a £4.5K fine after appearing in court days later.
Closer speaks to TOWIE’s Chloe Brockett and Kelsey Stratford about their differing opinions on whether stars should travel during the restrictions.
Kelsey: ‘We all have to make a living – I’ve been cautious working in Dubai’
TOWIE star Kelsey Stratford has been out in Dubai since mid December, and her Instagram is littered with photos of her soaking up the sun on the beach or out for cocktails at glam restaurants and bars. And while some of her followers have questioned why she’s abroad during the restrictions, Kelsey, 19, defends her decision to travel – saying she’s had to go to earn an income and that she’s safely following all rules while out there.
She says, “Dubai is amazing – it’s a really great place to be in terms of networking and business opportunities. TOWIE stops filming over Christmas, so now is the only time I have to go abroad and to work out here. I’ve been taking pictures for social media, doing some promotional work and having meetings with people in the beauty industry. We all have to make a living at the end of the day and this is my line of work.
“I’ve experienced the devastating effects of COVID-19 first hand – my disabled sister Kennedy suffered from it and was hospitalised. Thankfully she’s OK, but it was tough. I take it really seriously.
“When I left to come out here, we were not in a lockdown – we were able to travel freely for business. I’ve been cautious out here and the hotel has gone above and beyond to make everyone feel comfortable and safe. The levels of cleanliness in the hotel, and everywhere you go, are second to none and we are following all of the local restrictions and guidelines.
“When I fly home I will also adhere to all the relevant rules and have any tests that I need to ensure that I am travelling safely. I don’t see what the issue is.”
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.
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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...
Chloe Brockett: ‘Whether we like it or not, we’re role models – it’s not right to go abroad’
Since joining TOWIE in 2019, Chloe Brockett has amassed 200K followers on Instagram and quit her job as a hairdresser to become a full-time influencer. But Chloe, 20, says going abroad during the pandemic doesn’t sit well with her, and she doesn’t believe other reality stars should be out there partying.
She says, “Our jobs as influencers or reality stars heavily rely on posting pictures and content on our social media – posing with products or at certain places. But we’re lucky that we can do that from anywhere – during the lockdowns, I’ve done shoots myself in my home so I can’t understand why some stars have gone abroad.”
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She continued, “I’ve been scared. This virus has affected some people close to me and I’ve seen how it’s taken people’s lives, so I wouldn’t want to risk catching it.
“I understand that some will be paid good money to go to places like Dubai, and I understand that we all have to make a living. But whether we like it or not, we’re role models. And it doesn’t look good to our fans – especially young fans – if we’re seen partying abroad, acting like we’re not in a pandemic, and that everything’s normal.
“It probably confuses people too – they will think, ‘How come they’re allowed to go out drinking and acting normal?’. I’d love to be on a beach – but I just think it’s all in bad taste.”
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