Charlene White says she won't FaceTime her beloved children from Australia even though she won't be home for more than a week - as she worries it will make it harder to be apart.
The Loose Women star is instead planning an emotional reunion at the school gates with Alfie, five, and daughter Florence, three, after the I'm A Celebrity final on November 27.
Asked about video calling her children, she said: "I think them seeing me, will make them miss me even more. So I'll wait until I pick Alfie up from school next week. And then that'll be fine."
She continued: "I drew a chart that I drew and he is still crossing off all the squares for the days that I'm away and he'll be able to see that he's almost at the square that I put a star in which means that I will be home that day.
"I am desperate for hugs from both of them and desperate for a hug from [my partner] Andy."
Charlene, who was the first contestant voted out of the jungle on Friday night, also admitted it was difficult adjusting to life outside of camp over the weekend.
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Charlene said: "I have obviously spoken to Andy and caught up with how the kids are doing but since I got back to the hotel, I showered three times. I have washed my hair twice.
"I've drank lots and lots and lots of water that doesn't taste like smoke. I'm not very hungry haha. I'm just very, very thirsty.
"I am still overwhelmed. It feels weird to be around people and not be with the people I've been living with for two weeks. I think we had all gained so much comfort from being with each other."
She added: "And no matter how hard or tough or difficult it became for any of us, I think we all gained a lot of solace from the fact that we were doing it together. So it feels weird to be here without them. And I do really miss them."
In her first interview since leaving the jungle, Charlene also spoke about the difficult position she was put in when Matt Hancock joined the show. She said it led to inner turmoil and fears she could lose her job on ITV News if she was not impartial.
I'm A Celebrity continues tonight (November 19) on ITV and ITV Hub from 9.10pm. Previous episodes of the latest series are available to catch up on through the ITV Hub.
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