THE only way is no longer Essex for Gemma Collins.
The former Towie star plans to move to the Cotswolds with fiancé Rami Hawash — and she has her sights on them becoming “the new Posh and Becks”.
8
8
“I can’t wait to get my hands on David Beckham’s honey,” she says, in reference to the former England captain’s beekeeping produce — cheekily dubbed his “Sticky Stuff” by wife Victoria — at their £12million home in Great Tew, near Chipping Norton.
“The only way is the Cotswolds for me. It’s real class.
“I’m ready for quiet, country life. It’s my spiritual home.
“Me and Rami are the new David and Victoria — it suits me like nobody’s business.”
READ MORE ON GEMMA COLLINS
The Cotswolds has more than its fair share of celebs, with the Beckhams’ 4,000 acres neighbouring celeb hangout Soho Farmhouse, while Kate Moss and Princess Beatrice live nearby.
Hollywood has even moved in, with Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi regulars at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, a “very posh” drinking hole, according to Gemma.
And a Real Housewives Of The Cotswolds-style series is in the works.
Gemma 44, was born in Romford. She now grows vegetables and keeps chickens in her beloved garden — adorned with elephant sculptures — at her £1.3million converted barn near Chelmsford.
But after a string of “bad omens” — including the death of a chicken — she is now regularly seen driving her Land Rover around charming villages Wootton and Bourton-on-the-Water, on the lookout for a “multi-million-pound” home.
And Gemma will not allow any snobby Cotswoldians to look down at her.
On one recent trip there, Gemma pulled over to ask two local ladies for some advice. “Hi, honeys!”, she said. “Where’s nice to eat round here?”
The woman who responded pointed her towards gastropub The Bull in Charlbury, but warned: “It’s expensive.”
Offended, Gemma shot back: “Oh, that’s no problem, I could buy this town!’’
From the passenger seat, as they sped away, partner Rami, 50, scolded her for being “embarrassing”.
But Gemma is defiant: “Who does she think she is, telling me it’s expensive? I’m pulling up in a f***ing Defender that was £127k. Darling, do you know who I am?”
At the pub, where a rib of beef costs £98, Gemma later conceded: “I had to agree with her, it was a bit toppy.”
Wherever they settle, Rami’s life with The GC will never be dull.
Gemma and Rami, who has a mechanical repair business, have dated on and off since 2011.
They got engaged for a third time during an exotic Maldives getaway in February last year.
At the time, Gemma was enthusiastic to throw THREE huge weddings, including an Italian getaway, and visited Venice in October to taste menus.
8
8
But disaster struck when a wasp stung her tongue, and she was taken to hospital by water ambulance along the canals.
“I was dying, my tongue was swelling up from the back and I couldn’t breathe,” she says, shuddering.
“It’s an omen — Venice is off the cards. I can’t get married there after nearly dying there.”
Another health scare followed last month when she contracted a mystery virus.
She says: “I was nearly dead. I was out in my garden holding on to the wall at 3am, and I had an out-of-body experience.”
It took her a week to start feeling better and she adds: “Just getting washed after seven days was a big, big moment.”
Another person suffering from ill health has been her beloved mum Joan, 80, who required a hospital dash last year after she stopped breathing.
I was nearly dead – I was out in my garden holding on to the wall at 3am, and I had an out of body experience.
Gemma Collins
Joan, a breast cancer survivor, is now in a stable condition, but Gemma decided to move her parents in with her — and plans to hand over the house once she buys her bolthole in the Cotswolds.
“I’ll keep that Essex house as my flagship — Mum and Dad can have that,” she says.
While she adores living with her parents, she eyerolls as she says her dad Alan, 75, constantly tells her off for her expensive tastes.
Speaking about buying Chanel bags, she says: “I wait until I know the house is silent to get the bags out of the boot. My dad’s like, ‘Oh Gemma, this is ridiculous’.”
Amid all the health issues, wedding plans “got kiboshed” and she is now hoping for just the one intimate ceremony, next year at the earliest.
She suggests Marylebone registry office, followed by a party at a farmhouse in, of course, the Cotswolds.
GEM’S HEALTH WOES
“Half a million pounds on a wedding is just ridiculous,” she says. “I’d rather put that on my Cotswolds place.
“It becomes so pressurised and it puts you off. Now, we’ve decided to have a breather and have a year off. We’re not doing it until 2026.”
Gemma’s decades-long struggle with her weight has run smoothly since November, when she started injecting weight-loss drug Mounjaro.
“I absolutely love Mounjaro,” she says, crediting the jabs with helping her go from 24st to 20st 7lb.
“My mind had to catch up with how my body was changing, because I looked so different when I looked in the mirror.
“I was like, ‘Woah, am I ready for this?’. But I’m not worried about getting Ozempic face — I’d love to get Ozempic face!”
After a brief plateau, she now feels in “no rush” to shed her target of just under 6st, and finds smaller milestones more encouraging.
“It’s little things,” she says. “I can get my bra done up easier now.”
8
8
8
8
Gemma is a doting stepmother to Rami’s seven-year-old son, Tristan, and describes nephews Hayden and Kane as “the light of her life”.
She had planned to try for a baby after losing more weight, and is still considering IVF.
But she is ready to accept that she may not have children.
“I’m 44,” she says. “Do I really wanna be going to the local mother and baby groups?
“If it’s meant to be, it will be. If I don’t have a child, there’s so much more I want to do.
“And there is always that part of me itching, like, what can I do next?”
In the past few months, Gemma has teased making a garage song, turned down a return to Celebrity Big Brother (“I’m sure I’ll rock up at some point”) and has designs on releasing her own range of supermarket trifles after a viral video showed her thoroughly distracted by the dessert.
Knowing Gemma, she will find lucrative opportunities in all of them.
‘When I entertain, my heart is full’
“I absolutely love family time, but sometimes I have to pinch myself and remember I am The f***ing GC, let’s not forget,” she says.
“I have to remind Rami sometimes as well.
“I had a little break and he saw me being very domestic — men like that. But deep down, I’m an entertainer. When I entertain, my heart is full.
“I’m not ready to just sit in making packed lunches, darling . . . yet.
“This year, I’m concentrating on acting. I want to make a movie, but mostly I want to appear in The White Lotus. I want to be the new Jennifer Coolidge.”
Everything to know about Gemma Collins
Gemma, who was speaking in her role as Head Travel Agent for new Archers 24 Hour AI Travel Agency, said she has only one tip for the ultimate microbreak: “The Cotswolds, the Cotswolds, the Cotswolds . . . it’s all about the pub life down there.”
But if that’s not your cup of tea, she recommends Saudi Arabia — which she hopes to be her next holiday destination — because “everyone deserves luxury”.
- The Archers Refreshed 24 Hour AI Travel Agency helps Brits plan fun getaways with zero faff. Visit makeitpeachy.ai to receive a tailored itinerary, complete with an Archers cocktail to get you in the holiday mood.
