Reality television icon Gemma Collins has declared her intention to embrace authenticity and positivity in 2026, following what she describes as her "toughest year yet." The former The Only Way Is Essex star is looking ahead with hope after a difficult 2025, which saw her mother, Joan, hospitalised in the run-up to Christmas.
A Year of Hardship and Humility
In an exclusive new interview, Gemma confessed the festive period was particularly challenging. However, she is determined not to let the difficulties of 2025 dictate the tone for the new year. "This year I have learned to stay humble," she revealed. "I've appreciated the small things in life this year, time in the garden, time with family." She also issued a powerful critique of social media culture, stating that the constant portrayal of perfect happiness has become disingenuous. "Not everyone's having a good day... it's just become so fake," she said, calling for people to "get real again" in 2026.
Manifesting a Future of Love and Family
A lifelong believer in manifestation, Gemma is using the practice to shape her ambitions for the coming months. Central to her vision is her upcoming marriage to fiancé Rami Hawash. The couple are planning a £250,000 wedding later this year, having consulted an astrologer for the perfect date. Furthermore, their journey towards parenthood will be documented, as Gemma plans to share their IVF experience in a new Sky show, Gemma Collins: Four Weddings And A Baby.
"This will be the most important year of my life," she promised, assuring fans they will see the "real, raw me sharing the most intimate and personal times in my life."
Health, Weight Loss, and Personal Empowerment
The past year also brought significant changes to Gemma's health and fitness. She successfully lost three stone and dropped four dress sizes, aided by Mounjaro weight-loss injections. However, she suffered a gallbladder attack in August 2025, leading her to pause the treatment. Medical professionals assured her the issue was not linked to the medication.
She has since begun micro-dosing to mitigate side effects and will review continuing the treatment in the new year. "When I was on them, the weight was falling off of me like nobody's business, and I felt amazing," she recalled. For Gemma, the transformation was about vitality, not vanity. "I'm so much more energetic... Getting that excess weight off is less pressure on the heart," she explained.
Emphasising her hard-won self-confidence, she added: "No one puts me under pressure, darling. I'm at an age now; I've earned my diva-ship. People's opinions of me do not matter."
Addressing rumours of a potential return to I'm A Celebrity for an All Stars series, Gemma was characteristically blunt, stating her favourite memory was "getting on the plane home, darling, first class back to Essex." She did, however, joke that she would reconsider for a dream campmate like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
As she looks to a future filled with marriage, potential motherhood, and continued personal growth, Gemma Collins's message for 2026 is clear: focus on positivity, self-worth, and authenticity. Her final piece of advice for manifesting a better year? "Talk positively to yourself … Everything you see in your mind, you can become it. You've got to hold the vision."
