Gemma Collins might be thrilled to have dropped a few dress sizes – thanks to her Mounjaro weight loss jabs – but she’s not happy with one of the unwelcome side-effects. The 44-year-old revealed she’d lost more than two stone since starting on the NHS-approved weight loss jabs, but last week, she expressed concern that she’d started “looking older” since she began taking the medication late last year.
“I really don’t know what’s happened to me, I really don’t,” she said. “It’s just come on me overnight. But it has been a year since I’ve had any little tweakments.” The lines around her eyes had gone “next level”, she told her 2.2 million Instagram followers, before questioning whether it might be linked to her weight loss.
“I don’t know if it’s since I’ve been losing weight. I sure haven’t got ‘Ozempic face’ yet, but it would be the dream right now,” she said. “I’ve always had a fuller face, as you know. I do like expression around my eyes. I want to look natural still. But this just isn’t right. What has happened? I am 44 but this is taking it to levels that I never, ever imagined it’d get to.”
So-called ‘Ozempic-face’ is a term used to describe a hollow or gaunt look usually caused by rapid weight loss.
A source claimed that while Gemma, who is engaged to businessman Rami Hawash, made light of her “next level” lines, she was genuinely shocked by the dramatic change. They also claimed that while she’s still taking the jabs, she’s managed to make healthy lifestyle changes too.
“She’s eating really healthily and has broken some of the bad habits with food,” they said. “It was a bit of a shock to her to really see the effect the weight loss has had on her face. She doesn’t want to suddenly look older than she is, which is why she’s sorting it and being honest about it.
“Gemma’s always been really open and honest about her relationship with her body and she’s been through some really horrible times with it, but that’s all in her past now. The wrinkle tweakments are all part of her wanting to feel and look good. She knows there’s no point losing all the weight and just being unhappy, so she’ll happily make little changes to keep herself feeling her best.”
Gemma previously said she was a size 26 at her heaviest and is hoping to fit into a size 16 by summer, telling The Sun newspaper she was also hoping to “give birth to twins next year” if she can conceive at a healthy weight. She also revealed she once secretly had a gastric balloon fitted, but begged doctors to remove it after experiencing crippling pain. “It was scary. I should never have done it – I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Earlier this year, she announced she had signed up with Yazen, a company that provides a treatment plan of weight loss jabs, to put an end to her years of yo-yo dieting. She has often spoken publicly about her struggle with her weight, which she previously admitted had left her feeling suicidal and stuck in a “toxic dieting chain”.
“I will finally be free,” she said at the time. “I will finally be able to live my best life and just be free from all that upset and stress and turmoil that comes with constantly trying to lose excess weight.”
Dr Emma Cunningham, aesthetic doctor and founder of Dr Emma Clinics, told the Mirro that Gemma’s fresh anxiety around her facial wrinkles is an increasingly familiar issue with patients, as more and more people take weight loss medication. While they do not cause wrinkles directly, the rapid loss of fat, especially around the face, can leave skin looking looser and less plump.
“Men and women turning to these jabs are often delighted with the weight loss, but then catch sight of their reflection and feel they suddenly look older,” said Dr Emma. “That’s because the softness and roundness that fat gives the face is linked to a more youthful appearance. When that disappears, it can create hollow cheeks, gauntness and more pronounced lines. It’s not just the face either – the skin on the neck, arms, and tummy can also appear looser, depending on how much weight is lost and how fast.”
Fortunately, according to Dr Emma, there is a lot that can be done to support the skin in such cases such as gentle fillers, polynucleotides, skin boosters and radiofrequency treatments.
“A fuller face can often disguise early signs of ageing, so when that volume goes, it can suddenly highlight sagging or wrinkles that were previously less obvious,” said Dr Emma. “It’s not that weight loss causes ageing, but rather that it reveals more of what was already there.”
Our source claimed Gemma is not trying to turn back the clock and that she is fully aware she’s in her mid forties, but she’s not going to let a few wrinkles ruin her look. “She’s a diva and she strives for perfection,” said the source. “Rami totally supports her. She doesn’t go wild with treatments – it’s just a little maintenance here and there. She knows she’s 44. She’s not trying to pretend she’s 24.”
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