Gemma Collins was brutally attacked by her ex-boyfriend in 2014

Gemma Collins has disclosed that she was brutally attacked by her boyfriend in 2014 and says the horrifying incident left her feeling “powerless”.

The 36-year-old TOWIE star’s former partner, who has remained unnamed, is alleged to have beaten her to the floor, kicked her “constantly” in the spine and locked her in her own flat.

“Everyone’s got an opinion about you.”

Speaking in an interview with The Sun newspaper, in which she shared pictures of her injuries, the ‘Only Way Is Essex’ star said: “I was really badly beaten. I was powerless.

“He started beating me up and kicking me constantly on the floor repeatedly in the bottom of my spine, which he knows I had fractured coccyx.

“When he beat me enough to get me down on the floor then he didn’t stop there. He locked me in my flat – he then repeatedly kicked me, kicked me, kicked me – then for some reason he got disrupted and he walked into the bedroom and started smashing up the place in there.”

Although Gemma managed to escape by “crawling” down the stairs, she didn’t take the matter further, which she now regrets.

“I never left the jungle because I was hungry.”

“I managed to find the last bit of strength in me and I flipped the bolt open on the door and crawled down the stairs, blood dripping down my face and if it wasn’t for the neighbour at the bottom of the stairs – he called the police.

“I should have pressed charges but I was in love with that person. I was in shock and had a taxi outside my house waiting to take me to the airport.

“I can’t tell you what I said to them, it was just a blur. I dropped all the charges because I was too scared to see it through. I wish to this day that I saw it through,” she added.

The down-to-earth star says despite her confidence and physical strength, she can’t “switch off” the fear of being attacked again and feels on edge on dates.

She said: “I go out on dates with new people but even if they move their arm too quick I jump because it never leaves your mind. I would consider myself a very strong person but even I wasn’t strong enough to switch off to it.”

This incident took place shortly before the reality star jetted off to Australia to take part in ‘I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!’, but Gemma has revealed prior to entering the show she was still subjected to mental abuse.

She continued: “I just had to forget it all and head to Australia. But when I was there, he was so mentally abusive.

“He was calling my phone and I told him to stop and I blocked his number and then I was having meetings with execs and was trying to prepare for the jungle.”

And Gemma has revealed the whole situation weighed on her mind during her stint on the show and forced her to quit the jungle.

“I never left the jungle because I was hungry.”

She explained: “I had to do it but unfortunately when I got in there – I could not get it off my brain and as the days went on I was in so much pain. I am gutted that everyone thought I was a quitter and hungry but that’s not the truth.”

But Gemma is keen to return to the ITV programme to prove she is able to go ahead and bag the title Queen of the Jungle.

She said: “I do want to return to the jungle and prove what I could do. It was a terrible thing that happened.

“If I was to go back I wouldn’t have that first dread of going back. He is out of my life this time – don’t worry about that.”