EXCLUSIVEGemma Collins reveals she was meant to star in joint reality show with her ex James Argent - but he didn't turn up to filming due to being 'very unwell' with his addiction struggles
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Gemma Collins has revealed that she was meant to star in a joint reality show with her ex James Argent but he didn't turn up to filming amid his addiction struggles.
Speaking during a candid interview on the new Everything I Know About Me podcast, the former TOWIE star, 43, told how she burst into tears when he let her down - but insisted it 'wasn't his fault' as he was 'very unwell'.
Arg, 36, and Gemma briefly dated in 2012, before embarking on a tumultuous love story from December 2017. They split for good two years later.
He has been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction over the years but is now healthy.
In the first four episodes of Everything I Know About Me, Gemma also reveals she was advised to terminate a pregnancy after learning her unborn baby was intersex.
Listen to our new interview with Gemma Collins on our podcast, Everything I Know About Me:
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![Gemma Collins has revealed that she was meant to star in a joint reality show with her ex James Argent but he didn't turn up to filming amid his addiction struggles](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/22/10/85190595-13446443-image-a-85_1716369479973.jpg)
Gemma Collins has revealed that she was meant to star in a joint reality show with her ex James Argent but he didn't turn up to filming amid his addiction struggles
Elsewhere Gemma also shares insight into her childhood growing up in Essex, candidly detailing the bullying she endured at school.
The TV personality also opens up on her struggles with self-harming during her teenage years, detailing how she would take slimming pills when she was just 13 years old after facing cruel jibes about her weight.
Gemma and Arg briefly dated in 2012, before embarking on a tumultuous love story from December 2017, they split for good two years later, with Gemma saying she was was at an 'all-time low' over Christmas 2019.
She noted their romance turned 'very sour' because of Arg's drug addiction, insisting drugs 'changed him as a person'.
Gemma and Arg's romance came to an end in July 2020 after he told her he wanted an open relationship following his well-publicized drug and alcohol battle.
Speaking about their romance on Piers Morgan's Life Stories previously, Gemma said: 'For anyone who ever thinks about taking drugs, or just trying it for one night, you can end up getting addicted.
'I was really happy with James. We did get on, but the drugs changed him as a person. I fought every day for three years to get him well.
'I have felt suicidal … I think when my relationship broke down with Arg, that affected me. I just thought, I don't wanna be here anymore. I can't take it.
'Christmas was an all-time low. I saved his life three times, I had this insatiable love for him - I never wanted to give up on him.
'It was hard, there was a lot of love there - the relationship turned very, very sour because of the drugs.'
![Gemma and Arg briefly dated in 2012, before embarking on a tumultuous love story from December 2017, they split for good two years later (pictured together in 2019)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/22/10/84618637-13446443-Gemma_suffered_a_third_devastating_miscarriage_in_July_2020_afte-a-86_1716369527656.jpg)
Gemma and Arg briefly dated in 2012, before embarking on a tumultuous love story from December 2017, they split for good two years later (pictured together in 2019)
![She noted their romance turned 'very sour' because of Arg's drug addiction, insisting drugs 'changed him as a person' (seen on TOWIE in 2012)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/22/10/85191095-13446443-image-m-88_1716369784349.jpg)
She noted their romance turned 'very sour' because of Arg's drug addiction, insisting drugs 'changed him as a person' (seen on TOWIE in 2012)
Troubled James was taken to hospital for the second time in two months in 2019, after friends and family feared he had attempted a second 'overdose'.
Paramedics rushed to his £1.3million home in South Woodford, Essex in December, where they found the star 'disorientated' shortly before friends - including Mark Wright - rallied around in a bid to help him get the support he needs.
Arg has battled drink and drug addiction since finding fame on TOWIE. In 2014 he was suspended from the show after he failed a routine drugs test.
James checked into The Priory and returned to the ITV reality show in 2015.
The TV star spent three months in a facility in Thailand over the festive season in 2016 in a bid to curb his addiction and revealed he checked himself in to a programme in order to get the 'ongoing support' he needed.
However, he was dedicated to getting his life back on track and in January celebrated two years of sobriety.
Gemma, meanwhile, is engaged to Rami Hawash. Rami popped the question in the Maldives with a huge diamond ring, that MailOnline revealed is worth in excess of a staggering £200,000.
Gemma has said that she doesn't want to wear the ring too often due to its value and plans to wear a replica, except for special occasions.
He had originally proposed by placing the ring in a Christmas pudding in 2013 when they first start dating.
![Gemma and Arg's romance came to an end in July 2020 after he told her he wanted an open relationship following his well-publicized drug and alcohol battle (seen in 2018)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/22/10/85191099-13446443-Gemma_and_Arg_s_romance_came_to_an_end_in_July_2020_after_he_tol-m-90_1716369847696.jpg)
Gemma and Arg's romance came to an end in July 2020 after he told her he wanted an open relationship following his well-publicized drug and alcohol battle (seen in 2018)
![Gemma has previously said: 'I was really happy with James. We did get on, but the drugs changed him as a person. I fought every day for three years to get him well'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/22/10/85191163-13446443-Gemma_has_previously_said_I_was_really_happy_with_James_We_did_g-m-92_1716369877028.jpg)
Gemma has previously said: 'I was really happy with James. We did get on, but the drugs changed him as a person. I fought every day for three years to get him well'
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Listen to Gemma Collins on the Mail's Everything I Know About Me podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
New episodes released every Thursday, with the first three of Gemma's episodes available now.