Gemma Collins is back in touch and supporting ex James Argent after his ‘bad relapse’
JAMES 'Arg' Argent has revealed he is back in touch with ex-girlfriend Gemma Collins and she has been supporting him following his terrifying relapse.
The 34-year-old is on good terms with Gemma, who is now engaged to boyfriend Rami Hawash, 14 months on from their split.
She has helped him move forward from a "bad" night with friends earlier this month that saw paramedics called to his Essex home.
Former Towie pals Mark Wright, Ferne McCann, Megan McKenna and Lydia Bright have also pitched in following the "blip".
Arg - who is starring in the Real Dirty Dancing (starting Monday on E4 at 9pm) now insists he is back on track and determined to not let it derail the amazing progress he has made recently.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he says: “I do very well on the real Dirty Dancing so I hope Sun readers will enjoy that and be proud of me. I’ve got my Arg Band gigs and a couple of weddings in the Bahamas and Mykonos coming up - I’m lucky I have so many people who love me and I’ve got so much to look forward to I’m not going to let this hold me back!"
“This is the first time in my life that I like the way I look too - I don’t feel ugly anymore - I’m content and happy with my appearance. The only problem now is I’ve lost a little bit too much weight and I need to put on half a stone,” he laughs. “Everyone thinks it’s hilarious, we didn’t think we’d ever be in this situation but it’s one thing or another with me - that’s just me!”
Arg has broken his silence for the first time since we revealed paramedics rushed to save him, claiming he is full of regret for putting his life in danger and vowed it will never happen again.
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Speaking from his home in Woodford Green, Essex, the TV favourite said: “I had a very bad relapse after having some cravings for a while, but instead of ringing my therapist I had a drink for the first time in two years.
“Addicts always say one drink is never enough - if it was, I wouldn’t be an addict - but unfortunately it just escalated from there.
“I went to a comedy night with some friends in Bethnal Green, London - it was great fun, everyone was laughing, drinking and having a good time. I was having cravings again and when we went onto the afterparty in Essex I bought a round of drinks for my friends - unfortunately I gave in to temptation and had that first drink...
“After that, I can’t get into the specifics of what I did, but that’s where it all started and I ended up at home having an awful relapse - I’d been clean and sober for such a long time, it hit me like a ton of bricks as my body and mind hadn’t been used to it for so long.
“My friends were shocked and worried about me - I wasn’t myself mentally or physically and they weren’t used to seeing me like that - it was a very scary and upsetting experience for everyone around me and it became vital that an ambulance was called.”
After taking tests, paramedics agreed it was safe for Arg to stay at home to recover where he remained for two days to sleep it off.
He is now focused on his continued recovery, insisting it comes before everything else in his life.
