Gemma Collins says ‘I’ll be pregnant next year at 40’ after losing almost 3st in lockdown to combat fertility problems

GEMMA Collins turns 40 next year and she has just one birthday wish – to have a baby.

The reality favourite has shed nearly 3st on the advice of doctors to help her get pregnant and she is already dreaming of life as a yummy mummy.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Gemma, who calls herself “The GC”, says: “I would love to have a child.

“It would be great for me and such a positive message for all the girls out there who don’t want to rush their life or their life has taken different a direction, like me who’s put their career first.

“But in my forties I’d love everybody to see The GC walking around with a pram.”

Gemma has no concerns about hitting the big 4-O. In fact, she is looking forward to it and keenly points out some of the female stars enjoying hugely successful careers way beyond their forties.

The former Towie star says: “I’m going to be up there with them all — Mariah Carey, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Jennifer Aniston.

“Kylie’s not married yet or got children. Jennifer hasn’t got kids either. 

“Don’t write us off yet. We’re just beginning.”

Gemma is in a relationship with long-term on/off boyfriend James “Arg” Argent, 32, who is recovering from cocaine addiction, as revealed in The Sun last month.

He later thanked Gemma publicly for giving him “tough love” at the height of his drug habit and not hiding it from his family.

Over the past year she has had regular consultations with her doctor about the prospect of getting pregnant, having suffered a number of miscarriages in her thirties.

Gemma has  been reassured she can have children but losing weight will increase her chances of conceiving and having a healthier pregnancy.

And now Gemma’s career is firmly established as one of the UK’s most in-demand reality stars — with appearances on Celebrity Big Brother, I’m A Celeb, Dancing On Ice, Celebs Go Dating and more recently her own ITVBe show, Diva On Lockdown — she has time to focus on her new goal. 

She explains: “I’ve got a fabulous doctor. I can definitely have a child, he just told me it would be easier when I’m not carrying as much weight.

“He gave me the confidence not to panic about it. He told me to lose a few stone and it will help me.

“I am in a much better head space. It is easy to yo-yo when your life is all over the place. 

“Things are a lot calmer now — I’m cooking my own meals at home, riding my bike in the countryside and enjoying long walks. I am established. My career has gone above and beyond.” 

Another complication in Gemma’s pregnancy journey is that she has Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which triggers irregular periods, excess male hormones and enlarged ovaries.

Gemma was 28 when she was diagnosed with the condition after becoming alarmed by sudden weight gain. She says: “I was always very slim. But I really started piling on the weight and I’ll never forget it.

“I said to my mum, ‘Have you shrunk my clothes?’. She said, ‘I hate to break this to you,  but you’re putting on weight’.”

According to the NHS, one in five women in the UK has PCOS. It is said to be hereditary and in severe cases sufferers can be left with excessive hair growth and acne.

In later life it can lead to Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. At its worst, Gemma’s PCOS gave her “really bad stomach pains” and periods that were “all up the wall”.

Reflecting on the impact the condition has had on her life, and particularly her weight, she says: “I get so fed up of it. I get told I have such a lovely face, but what about my body, hunny? 

“I just think it’s so sad that in society you’re programmed to think that thin is beautiful. 

“I don’t know how it has happened. ‘You’ve got to have the perfect body to be beautiful’, it’s not about that. It’s about health. For me, I know my health is a whole lot better.” 

Gemma credits Skinny Jab weight-loss injections for helping her to drop from a size 24 to size 20 last year. But it led to taunts from online trolls who argued she should have used a personal trainer or eaten less to shift weight rather than inject herself with a drug. 

Gemma says: “For all those w****rs, please don’t get on to me about personal training.