Yoshitaka Kono/PA
Tulisa became the third celebrity to leave the Australian jungle on Monday
Tulisa Contostavlos says she’s been feeling “overwhelmed” since leaving I’m A Celeb and was taking a break to focus on her mental health.
The N-Dubz star and former X-Factor judge was the third contestant to be voted off the ITV show.
Speculation swirled when she removed all of her Instagram posts about the series and failed to appear on spin-off show I’m a Celebrity… Unpacked.
But in an Instagram video, Tulisa says she’s “getting a lot of attention” which has been difficult to deal with.
“A lot of bombarding, in all the most positive way but because it’s been a bit of a while for me, I can get overwhelmed quite easily,” the Sight of You singer says.
“I just need to take a bit of time for me and just chill and this is all just feeling a little bit much at the moment.”
Tulisa also says she’s decided to archive all of the posts which were shared on her behalf while she was on the show, calling them “random” and “not the way I would do my Insta”.
“When the time is right and I’ve had a little time to process, I’m going to make my own reels of my best bits that I really like,” she says.
‘I don’t think any of my campmates are fake’
Addressing an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine, Tulisa also clarified comments which appeared to suggest some of her campmates were “fake”.
“I don’t think any of my campmates are fake,” she says.
She says she was “thinking out loud” and had only meant to suggest some friendships would be stronger than others.
“I love my jungle buddies, I love my jungle fam.
“But friendships that people have really, really get nurtured and they become something that’s like, ‘wow this is a friend for life’.
“That’s all I was trying to say.”
Being in the jungle with people she had only just met, she says, had been difficult for her as “an introvert”.
“And then I come out and I’ve seen loads and loads of attention and I’m like, woah this is a lot.”
Yoshitaka Kono/PA
The finale of the 24th series of I’m A Celeb will air on Sunday night
The 36-year-old from London made her name in the 2000s as part of N-Dubz before launching her solo career and later appearing as a judge on X-Factor in 2011.
She largely stepped back from the public eye when, in 2014, charges were brought against her after an undercover reporter from The Sun claimed she’d brokered a deal to supply Class A drugs.
The drugs trial collapsed after the reporter was found to have lied in his evidence and Tulisa told Newsbeat at the time it was a real low point in her life.
She’s also spoken about being diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy – a type of paralysis that temporarily affects the ability to control the facial muscles – and having surgery and fillers when the condition made her face “drop”.
In her video, she says she was still “trying to overcome” the challenges in her life, after being “out of the spotlight for a long time”.
“I’ve still got my little demons.
“It doesn’t mean I’m going to hide back under a rock for another 10 years, it just means I need a little bit of time to just process and get right with my thoughts.”
Earlier in the series, Tulisa shared with her campmates that she identified as being demisexual and needing “to have a really close emotional bond with someone” before she finds them sexually attractive.
She says since leaving the jungle, people had been talking about her in a “positive way” but she still found it hard.
“Mental health is important and I am super grateful for all the love and support I’ve had.
“I’m gonna have a week just becoming at one with my thoughts. I will be back,” she says.
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