I'm A Celeb star Tulisa's 'years from hell' - sex tape leak, drugs sting and drastic appearance change

I'm A Celebrity campmate Tulisa Contostavlos shot to fame in hip hop group N-Dubz alongside cousin Dappy and ex-boyfriend Fazer.

She was propelled to further stardom when Simon Cowell picked her to be a judge on The X Factor - replacing Cheryl. A hit with the public, she went on to win the 2011 series with Little Mix, who later became one of the biggest girl bands since The Spice Girls.

After leaving her judging job in 2012, Tulisa launched a solo career and had a string of successful hits, including a number 1 single with Young. But her world came crashing down when a sex tape featuring her with ex Justin Edwards was leaked online and she was separately arrested for alleged drug dealing - something she has always denied and was sensationally cleared of when it emerged she'd been set up, causing her 2014 trial to collapse.

What followed was a tough few years for the now 36-year-old, who retreated from public life until N-Dubz got back together last year and announced a new album and tour that sold out within minutes. As she prepares for mega fame again after being selected as one of this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! stars, the Mirror looks back at what's happened between then and now...

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Sex tape leak

Tulisa's star was rising high on The X Factor until her life was rocked by a sex tape scandal during her second year on the ITV show in 2012.

Initially her ex Justin Edwards - also known as MC Ultra - denied he was the one who leaked it, but he later admitted being responsible. At the time Tulisa was just 23 years old and said it made her feel like her 'world was ending', especially as it happened at the height of her career so far.

In one of the first high profile revenge porn cases, 60 websites were forced to remove the footage, which was filmed three years earlier when Tulisa and Justin, were still in a relationship. But as the charge was not yet illegal in the UK, Tulisa only received an apology from her then 28-year-old ex and no further legal action could be taken.

Describing the impact Justin's actions have had on her to this day, Tulisa recently told Olivia Attwood's So Right It's Wrong podcast: "Honestly, there’s no words to describe. It felt like virtual rape, that’s the only way I can describe the emotion. It was just horrific. I felt so, just, judged and I felt disgusting, I felt ashamed.

“I just became miserable by the end of that second year, I wasn’t going to do the [The X Factor] show again. I just hated it, I hated it every day. It’s affected my relationships to this day and intimacy and all those kinds of things - it’s life changing in a big, big way."

She added: "It's taken me many, many years to come to terms with it. But for me, all pain is growth, so every single part of my experiences I was mean to feel, and I wouldn't be the person I am today without them."

Drugs sting

A year later, Tulisa faced another scandal - when she was arrested for allegedly supplying £800 worth of cocaine.

But it later emerged that undercover News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood - also known as the Fake Sheik - had set her up by posing as a wealthy film producer who wanted her to star in a Hollywood blockbuster. He claimed Tulisa arranged for him to be sold half an ounce of the drug via one of her contacts in 2013 and later handed the evidence into police.

The case did go to court, but Tulisa's trial sensationally collapsed after Mahmood was accused of tampering with evidence and lying in the witness box. He was later tried on related charges and sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

Speaking after the charges against her were dropped, Tulisa - who always said she was innocent - said: "Let me be perfectly clear, I have never dealt drugs and I have never been involved in taking or dealing cocaine. This whole case was a horrific and disgusting entrapment by Mazher Mahmood."

Assault on TOWIE star

But later that year, Tulisa was back in court again when she was accused of punching celebrity blogger Vas J Morgan during a bust up at V Festival in Essex. She claimed the TOWIE star had insulted her mentally ill mother.

Though she denied the charges, she was convicted and ordered to pay £3,000.

Speaking at the time, Tulisa said: "This has been a rollercoaster week for me. I never wanted any of this. I did not assault Vas J Morgan and I am outraged at this decision. I will be appealing it. There are a number of high-profile witnesses who were there and know what happened. I urge them to come forward and tell the truth at the appeal. I am determined to clear my name as I have already done once this week. I repeat – I did not assault Vas J Morgan. I am innocent."

Following her self-proclaimed 'year from hell', she appealed the decision in a bid to clear her name. She claimed Mr Morgan had a "strange obsession" with her and conducted a "vendetta" against her after an incident in which she asked security to remove him from a VIP area at the Whisky Mist nightclub in London's Mayfair. But Judge David Radford upheld the conviction and said: "We find that she did strike Mr Morgan."

Drink driving charge

In 2016, Tulisa found herself in the dock again after pleading guilty to drink-driving.

The then 27-year-old broke down in tears as she admitting crashing her Ferrari on the wrong side of a north London road and hitting another vehicle with two passengers in while under the influence. No one was harmed in the 'minor collision'.

Tulisa was banned from driving for 15 months and ordered to a £1,000 fine. A charge of dangerous driving was dropped by the prosecution.

Legal victory over Britney track

For the next few years, Tulisa took a step back from the spotlight and was rarely seen in public, spending much of her time out in LA.

Though in 2018 she won a legal case against will.i.am and Britney Spears, who she said didn't give her a writing credit for their hit 2012 track Scream and Shout. Tulisa said her and Will co-wrote the track for Tulisa's The Female Boss album, but it was dropped from the track list.

Will later went on to release it with Britney and it reached number 1 in the UK charts - her first chart-topping hit for almost a decade.

Tulisa won the case and was given an official credit on the record and 10 percent of the publishing rights and income.

Bell's Palsy battle and changing face

Over the years, Tulisa has admitted to having various cosmetic procedures done and looks very different to when N-Dubz first burst onto the scene in 2007.

She previously said: "Yes, I’ve had my lips done, and I’m happy with my lips. And I also had a tiny bit of filler in my cheeks. Pictures of me where my face swelling, I had water retention – where you have filler your face draws up loads of water. So my face began to swell like a balloon."

But she has denied ever having a nose job, telling The Guardian: "It really bugs me when people say I’ve had a nose job. That’s just make-up. So losing a stone, filler in my cheeks, my lips done and the contouring – and people do think, oh gosh, you look so different.’

In 2020, she appeared on Loose Women and revealed she had the facial condition Bell's Palsy, a neurological disorder that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face, sometimes causing the face to droop. Tulisa said hers stemmed from nerve damage following a horse riding accident.

After receiving cruel trolling over her appearance over the last few years, she revealed: "I do suffer from Bell's Palsy. There's been times people have criticised the way I look and my face, not knowing I'm going through a Bell's Palsy attack. Someone online said I looked like I was having a stroke. I have emergency steroids on me and I know how to handle it. Some of the worst comments would be too harsh for daytime television. The worst things you can say about women."

N-Dubz and TV comeback

Most recently, Tulisa has reunited with her N-Dubz bandmates. In May 2022 the trio announced new music and a tour across the UK and Ireland, and tickets sold out in minutes.

And in June 2023, Tulisa made her TV return on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside her N-Dubz bandmates, with the group releasing their album Timeless that August - their first album release in 13 years.

Now Tulisa is set to be back on TV screens again - this time in I'm A Celeb, which kicks off on Sunday, November 17. And ITV bosses are said to hope she appeals to a younger audience, many of who have rediscovered her music via TikTok.

But despite her N-Dubz comeback, Tulisa revealed she plans to quit showbiz soon as she hopes to earn a living away from music and TV. In a chat with Fearne Cotton days before flying out to Australia, she shared: "The music industry is wild, it is ridiculous. I'm through most of it. I'll be out in two years from now. I'm going to property next year. I think I'll always come back for N Dubz. But I think the person I've become, I'm a public figure that doesn't really like being in the public eye."

On the Happy Place podcast, she revealed: "I am actually going to build some themed rentals. So I'm like, a super fantasy geek, all things like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones. And I've always wanted to get into the property game. But I was also like, there's some parts of it that can be a little bit mundane.

"And I was like, 'How can I do this but also be really passionate about what I'm doing. So why don't I incorporate, you know, something that I'm super passionate about? So instead of just building houses, let's build themed places that I can rent out. So yeah, at the minute I'm looking for land, I want it to all be very kind of like a nature reserve, you know, cabins in a forest, Hobbit houses. So, yeah, that's my, my plan for 2024. I'm absolutely buzzing."

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