TOWIE star Gemma Collins has opened up about her struggle with the perimenopause, revealing emotional symptoms including memory loss that have left her in tears and begging fans for help
Gemma Collins recently appeared on ITV’s I’m A Celeb(Image: gemmacollins/Instagram )
Gemma Collins has reached out to her followers for support after revealing her struggles with the perimenopause.
The I’m A Celebrity: South Africa personality took to social media to discuss her memory difficulties, confessing she’s becoming more absent-minded as the condition progresses, reports the Mirror.
In an Instagram post last week, Gemma vented: “PERI MENOPAUSE SUCKS !!!!! I’ve lost two sets of car keys in one week and I do not know for the life of me where I put them… I can’t remember nothing it’s bizarre! And it’s like an out of body experience my mind is normally very sharp! Is there any help for this and can someone who’s got the witchy powers please help me find my keys!”
She went on to urge her supporters to “send help”, saying she was “having a moment”. Followers rushed to provide suggestions, with numerous people recommending HRT [Hormone Replacement Therapy] or exercise as potential solutions.
Ex-Real Housewives Of Cheshire personality Tanya Bardsley, 45, shared that she’s experiencing similar issues, writing: “I feel ya hunny.”
Perimenopause marks the transitional period leading up to the menopause, during which the ovaries start producing reduced levels of oestrogen. It typically starts when women reach their forties, with symptoms including erratic periods, hot flushes and night sweats.
Official NHS guidance states you might also experience – like the 45 year old Gemma – “problems with your memory or concentration”. Behind her cheerful exterior, an insider close to the former TOWIE personality reveals she’s finding things difficult. “Gemma is quite emotional at the minute. She keeps herself very busy with work, but the perimenopause is something that is troubling her,” our source reveals. “She’s losing her keys, her memory, she’s up and down with her emotions… it seems to have hit her quite hard. Some people suffer badly with perimenopausal symptoms and she’s one of them.”
The celebrity initially spoke out about her perimenopause struggles last November, informing her followers she’d been feeling “a bit off lately” and encouraging other women to pay attention to their bodies.
The Essex-based star, who also lives with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), explained, “I’ve been getting the most weirdest symptoms – itchy ears, feeling a little bit more tired than usual.
“I was just like, I feel like there’s something not right with my hormones. I’m 44 now, and it’s no secret that perimenopause can creep up on you at any time, and I’ve just been a bit worried about it.”
Beyond forgetfulness, Gemma has previously discussed other, more peculiar effects, confessing that even the noise of fiancé Rami Hawash eating or breathing was setting her off. “My partner knows when to stop chewing so I don’t kick off,” she revealed. “It irritates the hell out of me.”
She has also discussed experiencing “low libido” and feeling “really tired”, though it’s her lapses in memory that have been troubling her the most. Illustrating just how much her memory has deteriorated, Gemma has joked that she’s resorted to putting her partner and her dogs “wearing name tags” as she “can’t remember what they’re called” anymore.
At the beginning of this year, Gemma made her return to the I’m A Celebrity jungle, and while she completed the full stint this time, she admits her perimenopause symptoms intensified the challenge.
“I was waking up just bursting into tears in the morning,” she said afterwards. “I’ve got nothing to be sad about, but it’s a very strange thing. You just start to notice it coming on. One of my first symptoms was itching in the inner ear. That is what alerted me to it.”
The celebrity is currently occupied filming her personal reality series, Four Weddings And A Baby, for Sky, which will document her path towards matrimony and, with any luck, motherhood. At the beginning of 2026, she shared her aspirations for the year, posting on Instagram: “Yes I’m getting married this year and YES I’m having a baby.”
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Along with experiencing three pregnancy losses previously, Gemma has faced an extensive struggle with fertility issues. However, with IVF treatment, she ultimately hopes to fulfil her ambition of becoming a mum this year.
She has pledged that “it will happen”, though acknowledged the programme captures her experiencing a whirlwind of feelings throughout. “You see me broken,” Gemma said in April. “It’s not all plain sailing. It’s very raw. You see that despite the lights, the big house, the glamorous life, you can still be broken in so many ways.” According to insiders, Gemma is managing her perimenopause symptoms by “talking about it”, though there are moments when maintaining a positive outlook proves challenging.
“She’s foggy-headed and there’s a build-up of emotions,” our source reveals. “There’s a lot on her shoulders at the minute, so Gemma’s looking forward to a bit of a break and taking a holiday this summer.
“She also wants to get stuck into wedding planning. She won’t let anything destroy this.”
