Olivia Attwood has broken her silence on her exit from I'm A Celebrity saying she was "heartbroken" over having to leave the jungle.
The Love Island star spoke out after leaving the camp on Monday just 24 hours after becoming part of the ITV hit series – revealing she "cried" when she was told she couldn't return.
The reality TV star exited Brisbane airport within hours and then jetted into Manchester earlier this week after dramatically being forced to withdraw on medical grounds.
Speaking about her early exit, she has now told the Mail Online: "I was absolutely devastated.
"I'm not a crier but I started to cry, it was so emotional, and I was heartbroken and gutted."
Olivia is due to share her story in full as to why she was forced to leave, but recently insisted it wasn't due to Covid.
The 31-year-old was happy and content on the show but concerns were raised by a member of the crew following a standard test that the celebs do behind the scenes during the series.
After further checks were made away from the jungle it was ITV's decision to remove Olivia from the show.
At the time a friend said: "Olivia was very keen to continue and was gutted when she was told that having left camp for tests she was not going back. Her I'm A Celebrity journey was only just beginning and she is devastated."
In ITV's original statement regarding her departure, a spokesman said: "As a precautionary measure Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo some medical checks. Unfortunately, the medical team has advised it is not safe for Olivia to return to camp as there needs to be further investigation. She has been absolutely brilliant and she'll be very much missed on the show.”
Later the same day a post on Olivia's instagram said: "To say Olivia is heartbroken would be an understatement. She dreamed of doing 'I'm A Celebrity' for years, and was absolutely loving every second of the show and throwing herself into jungle life feet first(just as we knew she would). However for reasons beyond her control her journey has been cut short. Your support and kind words have meant the absolute world to her, now as much as it always has.
"You will hear the truth from Olivia in due course and she will be back on screen in the new year. PS Who is going to roast Matt Hancock now??."
Shortly before going onto the show, Olivia had admitted she hoped it would help boost her TV career. She said: "I am quite open to whatever comes my way. I feel this year I have already started filming my documentary, I have got two of those coming out and there will be another series of Olivia Meets Her Match so I am pretty lucky because I have a busy year ahead.
"But obviously I would be extremely open to looking at doing some more prime time stuff or even live presenting.
"It is definitely an area that I would love to dip my toe and I think half of the relationship I have with the channel and going into the show is kind of we are moving towards something but I don’t quite know what it is yet but like I say I am really, really pleased with where I am at right now but excited about what the future holds."
She had spent thousands of pounds on beauty treatments to prepare for going on the show.
She said: "So, I did eyebrows, tint and lamination, my lip blush tattooed so it looks like I’ve got a bit of lippy on it’s gone a bit too red in the sun but that’s fine, better than nothing, and I did Botox and a facial and that’s it.
"Oh and I cut three inches off my hair, it’s not short, just to make it a bit more manageable. I cut down my nails to short and square, which is not my normal go to, it feels strange but just so I can actually use my hands instead of breaking a nail.
"I’m hoping this is going to be one of those experiences that make you realise that all those things don’t really matter – but somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be the case. It’s weirdly exciting to strip back and go back to basics."
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