Caitlyn Jenner has opened up to her I’m A Celebrity 2019 campmates about the moment she came out as transgender in Vanity Fair.
Public perceptions weighed on the celebs’ minds in the Australian outback yesterday, after Jacqueline Jossa burst into tears at viewers’ decision to give her another Bushtucker Trial.
The actress told Caitlyn and Nadine Coyle that the ITV reality show is the hardest thing she’s ever done.
“I’ve just realised I really, really, really care about what other people think of me,” she observed.
“I didn’t think I cared that much, but being in here I’ve realised how much I do. I’d look at everything, what people are saying about me, read all the comments, I read all my DMs.
“I look for all the bad stuff basically. I’ve realised I torture myself… it’s like a form of self-harm.”
Nadine sympathised with her, suggesting she should try and get over her habit.
The conversation led to Caitlyn reflecting on her transition, which followed a prolonged period of speculation about her personal life.
She publicly came out by becoming the first ever transgender woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair.
The magazine’s July 2015 issue featured a photo of the reality TV star shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, captioned ‘Call me Caitlyn’.
“Transitioning and trying to make an impact (on) social media is extraordinarily important,” she commented.
“As soon as the cover broke, in the next 4 hours and one minute, I broke the world record for the fastest to one million followers on Twitter.”
On her motivation for doing the feature, Caitlyn continued: “For me this was a big FU to the millions and millions of people out there that had said terrible things about me.
“It just came out and it just shocked them.”
Nadine said she remembered where she was when the cover was released, while Jacqueline praised the iconic picture.
Curious about the transitioning process, the EastEnders star asked about the surgery involved.
“I had a lot, but then near the end it went pretty quickly because you can do your face and your chest all at the same time,” Caitlyn explained.
“For guys, if they go on oestrogen, they will grow boobs ok. In my case I was on oestrogen back in the 80s and had a little 36/38B, and then I met [ex-wife] Kris and had them chopped off.
“The second time, 25 years later, I was back on oestrogen obviously and they came back some, but not much.
“I really had to have them done so it is kind of past the point of no return.”
Jacqueline, a self-confessed Kardsashians fan, was full of admiration for the former Olympic athlete.
“I love the fact that she talks so openly and feels like she can trust us,” she told the Bush Telegraph.
“She puts everything into perspective as well. Like, everybody goes through something. The amount of strength that woman has is amazing.”
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs nightly at 9.00pm on ITV, followed by Extra Camp on ITV2.
