Tulilsa Contostavlos has shared further details about why she didn’t remain in Australia with the other I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! stars following her jungle exit.
Fans were surprised when the songwriter and rapper returned to the UK immediately after being eliminated from the ITV show, missing the moment Danny Jones was crowned the winner as well as the party thrown for them at the end of the series.
During the wrap party, Contostavlos made a brief appearance when she appeared via a video message from the UK.
She didn’t explain why she hadn’t stuck around in Australia at the time, but has since reflected on her reasons for jetting home sooner than expected.
“I came out, still followed by cameras, all tits and teeth, and it wasn’t until I was on my own that I felt this introvert-overload,” she recalled.
Addressing how distressed she had become, she continued: “I was hyperventilating, crying. It was too much.”
Tulisa decided to return to the UK straight after her jungle exit
ITV
She went on to tell The Guardian how she had pondered: “Is this about a fear I have of being in the spotlight? Or is the person I’ve become just not the kind of person that wants fame any more?”
Ahead of the final show, the 36-year-old apologised for missing out on the last bit of time with her “jungle fam”.
“Thank you to @itv for the experience and sending so much love to my Jungle Fam before the final tonight,” she penned on Instagram.
“Sorry I can’t be there to celebrate with you all,” the singer signed off.
Tulisa explained she was ‘hyperventilating and crying’ after her stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity
ITV
Eagle-eyed fans also noted how Contostavlos seemed to remove all trace of her I’m A Celebrity journey from her social media page.
Speculation mounted about the rapper’s unhappiness with the show based on the move, which she soon denied.
“I haven’t been doing my Instagram, the way that everything is posted and all the random stuff is not the way I do my Insta,” she commented in a video.
She added that she would share highlights from her time on the show once she’d had “a little time to process”.
“I really need to take a bit of time for me and just chill, and this is all feeling a little bit much at the moment,” she admitted.
In her video message to co-stars during the wrap party, which aired on screens a week after the finale, Contostavlos expressed how proud she was of her fellow celebrities.
Tulisa Contostavlos was the only campmate absent from the I’m A Celebrity wrap-up party
ITV
“Guys as we know someone isn’t here and that someone is Tulisa but fear not because I’ve got a message from her,” GK Barry told the group.
The singer appeared on screen and said: “Hello everybody, I’m so proud of you all, you’ve absolutely smashed it, now I want you to go and eat yourselves into an oblivion.
“I’m so sorry that I can’t be there so have a big old drink for me. I love you lots like jelly tots and I will see you soon.”
